You don't stand a chance
by black-lightning82
Summary: Sakura Jousui now has enough members for a girls' team. The problem? They aren't very good and they are constantly reminded of that. But Kojima and her new friend Casey aren't about to give up. Disclaimer: I don't own Whistle!
1. The New Girl

Hello readers. This may be a bit rough and I didn't know what rating to put on it so I played it safe. This is my first story so please read and review so I know if I'm doing anything wrong. Thank you!

* * *

_**Chapter 1: The New Girl**_

I stepped nervously out of my mom's car and gave a good look around the school grounds. Mother dearest worked for a multinational company and recently got transferred to JAPAN to be a financial advisor. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing bad about Japan… but I don't want to live here! School was hard enough without learning a completely new language on top of that.

Never-the-less, here I am. There's no turning back now.

Sighing, I grabbed my bag from the floor in front of the passenger seat and began the walk to the front doors. There weren't very many people here yet but that made me stand out even more. A few groups of people stood beneath the sakura trees scattered throughout the courtyard while others sat on benches lining the sidewalk.

After much pointing, staring, and whispering I reached the front doors of Sakura Jousui. Feeling strangely alone, I made my way to the office to collect my schedule and such.

* * *

Okay, NOW everyone was staring. I stood front and center beside a frighteningly bubbly teacher named Katori-sensei. Gripping my shoulders, she smiled at the class and introduced me.

"Class, this is Stonebrook Casey. Casey-chan, tell us a little about yourself."

"Like what?" I asked as politely as possible. I hate introductions and I hate spotlights even more. Know I'm there, just don't focus your attention on me. _Guess it can't be helped._

"Where are you from? What are your favorite things to do? Things like that."

"Okay… I'm from Iowa. My favorite things are soccer and reading fanfiction on the internet." I looked at Katori-sensei and her smile widened (if that is possible).

"Oh, you play soccer! I'll introduce you to the girl's team captain. She'll be so excited!" She was now hugging me and exclaiming to the entire world how happy she was.

"Ano… Katori- sensei?" One of the students in the back was raising his hand. "Where's ay-oh-ah?" He seemed to struggle with the pronunciation.

"Glad to see you're awake today Shigeki-kun. Iowa is in the United States. Now would you be so kind as to wake Kazamatsuri-kun? We're about to start the lesson."

"No problem sensei." The blonde boy smirked as he grabbed a textbook and stood, walking over to a sleeping brunette. I assumed that this was Kazamatsuri-kun. Surprisingly, he was even shorter than me, and I am only 153cm tall.

Shigeki snuck up next to Kazamatsuri's desk and dropped his textbook right in front of the brunette's face. He snapped upright so fast that he tipped his chair backwards and fell into a heap on the floor.

I tried not to laugh as I found my seat and the boy got up, blushing and stammering an apology to Katori-sensei. Shaking my head, I focused on said teacher and tried to decipher what she was saying with my limited knowledge of the Japanese language.

* * *

Weaving through the crowd of students in the hallway, I made my way to the soccer fields with the forms Katori-sensei had given me. As of yet, only one person was there. It was a girl with shoulder- length black hair. She was juggling the ball expertly, making any confidence I had had melt away. There was no way I could be that good.

Never-the-less… "Excuse me!" The girl trapped the ball and turned. "Are you Kojima Yuki?"

"Yes. Can I help you?"

I held out the forms, glad to see me hands weren't shaking with the butterflies in my stomach. "I want to try out for the team."

She smiled and took the forms. "No try-outs necessary. Now we have just enough people for a full size game. If you hadn't come, we would have been stuck with mini- soccer. Have you played before?"

"Yes, but I'm not very good."

This seemed to make her smile even more. "At least you have played. You can go change in the locker room. Meet the team here in 10 minutes."

"Hai!"

10 minutes later I emerged from said locker room and was met by the rest of the girl's team on the pitch.

"Girls, meet our newest member Stonebrook Casey," Captain Kojima announced.

"Konnichiwa!" they shouted simultaneously.

"Alright. Now that we have enough for a team we need to practice a lot. I know that not many of you have ever played soccer before, so we have to practice even harder. I talked to the boy's team coach and he agreed to help us get started. Let's get down to the other pitch and see what he wants us to do."

"Hai!"

The boy's pitch was nearly the same as the girl's but much smoother. There weren't any rocks or weeds on this field. There weren't any players either. The team stood on the far base line with the coach- a tall man with long black hair and a cigarette poking out of the side of his mouth- in the center. Both Shigeki and Kazamatsuri stood among them. I must say, it _was_ actually pretty intimidating.

"Ready to get started Captain?" he asked. She nodded. "Alright, 5 warm-up laps around the field, stretch and we'll do some drills. Then I'll suggest a position and we'll go from there."

There was a groan from the team before we started running but Kojima-chan pumped them up as best as she could and led the way.


	2. Motivation

_**Chapter 2: Motivation**_

Breathing hard, I came to a stop before coach Matsushita (as I had heard him called)

Breathing hard, I came to a stop before coach Matsushita (as I had heard him called). Endurance was definitely something I had to work on if I didn't want to make a fool of myself. But Kojima hadn't stopped, so neither would I.

"Casey-chan!" I turned at the sound of a high- pitched voice to my right. If I remembered right she was Sakurai Miyuki. "Let's stretch out over here!"

"H- hai!" I jogged over to her and followed her instructions for the team's usual stretching routine and then followed with some of my own while waiting for the rest of the team to catch up.

"Okay! Gather around!" Coach Matsushita called. The team converged on the center of the field and listened carefully. "For the first drill I want everyone to get a ball and line up on the base line. Dribble until I blow this whistle, then turn around and dribble the other way. When I blow it again turn around and go back. We'll repeat this until I blow the whistle 3 times. Go as fast as you can."

A few minutes later, everyone was lined up and poised, waiting for the whistle. My dribbling skills were far from perfect but they were better than many of the other players so I felt a bit of my confidence return.

He blew the whistle again so I planted my left foot and dragged my right over the top of the ball. Then I turned and ran the other way. Over and over again, he blew the whistle and I could hear my heart beating in my ears. Then he let out a series of blasts.

One… two… three… four…. I turned around once and stopped. Several people collapsed in heaps, but I stayed on my feet and put my hands behind my head, gasping for air. My head was pounding and I had a bad stitch in my side but I was too proud to drop to the ground.

The boy's team came and handed out bottles of water. I took the one Mizuno Tatsuya offered to me. (I learned his name from his fan club members on the team) I saw a couple of guys from the other team snickering. _They think we're weak. They don't think we can do it._ Taking a single swallow of water, I set the bottle on the bench and went to talk to Kojima, the pain momentarily forgotten.

"Kojima-chan?" Said girl looked up at me. I sat down next to her and she smiled at me. I didn't smile back.

I saw her frown from the corner of my eye as I stared at the dirt before me. "What's wrong?" she demanded.

"You're going to help us win, right?"

"Huh?"

I looked up at her. "You aren't going to take it easy on us are you? I've seen the way they look at us. They don't think we can do it. I want to prove them wrong, Kojima-chan. I want to prove that gender doesn't mean a thing. So I want a strait- forward answer. Are you going to push us hard to get better, or is this a waste of time?"

"Of course I'm going to push everyone to get better!" I gave her a stern look. She was taking this too lightly. She dropped the concerned, sympathetic look and gave me a determined one instead. "I promise that this is not a waste of time."

We both jumped sky high as the whistle blew. "Break time's over!" the coach yelled. "For the next drill you'll go one- on- one with either Kazamatsuri or Shige. Split into 2 even groups. You'll go until I blow the whistle. You will switch lines each time you go through. Mizuno! Kojima! You'll stand over here with me."

* * *

_**With the coach:**_

"What do you want us for?" Kojima asked.

"It's too late in the season to be teaching your entire team how to play every position. I want to decide what position they're in today so they can get the feel of it before their first game. Watch them. These drills will tell us who ought to play where. I've already decided that you should play forward. Now, as the captain, you must evaluate their strengths and weaknesses to decide which position they will play."

She nodded. That made sense.

"Any suggestions yet?" Coach Matsushita demanded. He held his clipboard ready with a list of names and a space for comments on it.

"Sakurai Miyuki doesn't have the power to clear the ball as a defender," Tatsuya noted. "She has good aim, though, and fair ball handling skills. I'd put her in as a forward with Kojima."

Coach scribbled this down. "What about… Yurame Keiko?"

"Which one is that?" Tatsuya asked.

Kojima pointed to a heavy built, dark- haired, brown- eyed girl that was currently in line. "She has size and strength but she lacks in endurance," she told them. "I would definitely say defense."

"Santino Eva?"

Kojima pointed to a tan brunette currently going head to head with Kazamatsuri. "She's our only goalie, and she's good at it. I want to keep her there."

"Goalie it is then." He looked up to blow the whistle but stopped. "What about her?"

Tatsuya followed his gaze to a short, green- eyed brunette going against Shige. The blonde looked frustrated and was currently trying to trick her into falling for a feint. Left… right… left… and go! He finally managed to get around her (and nearly knock her on her butt at the same time) but she wouldn't let him take the ball so easily. She swung her foot out and met the ball at the same time he did. Since she was already on the ground, he was the one that fell. Standing up quickly, she retrieved the ball and ran for the goal. She was about to shoot it when Shige slide- tackled her, making the ball roll harmlessly out- of- bounds.

"Coach! Blow the whistle already!" someone shouted. Fumbling for a moment with said metal object he brought it to his lips and blew.

"That was Stonebrook Casey. She appears to be good at taking the ball away but she doesn't have the height of a defender or quite enough power to clear the ball." Kojima looked up at the coach. "I can't decide whether to put her in forward or midfield. What do you think?"

"Hmm…" He paused and located her name on the list. "If she's good at stealing the ball, then we'd better put her in midfield where that talent can be of some use. She'll have to work on ball handling though."

* * *

"Everyone over here!" Coach yelled. I frowned but obeyed. I had been about to go up against Shige again. I wanted to get a little payback for the slide tackle last time. Oh well._ Guess you can't get everything you want._ "This will tell you what position you play and what you need to work on."

He taped said paper to the wall and turned to the boys' team.

"Thanks for helping out today guys. You can go now."

There was a bit of grumbling here and there among the players. Apparently, they didn't want to come to practice if the only thing they were going to do was dribble around cones on the sidelines.

I waited for the rest of the team to look at the paper, choosing instead to sit on the bleachers and wait for things to clear out. Of course, this left me alone with my thoughts, which can be bad if I'm on a time limit because I don't like to bring myself back to reality.

_Now I know why they were laughing at us. They've got good players. They can handle the ball so perfectly and they can spot weaknesses from a mile away. How are we ever going to catch up? What am I thinking? That's what I talked to Kojima-chan about. She doesn't want to lose either. She's going to push everyone to get better, no matter what level they're at. I just have to worry about myself. With enough practice, I'll be just as good as them. I'll have to practice on my own too. I'll talk to the coach to see if he can help me. Maybe he can tell me what to do to get better. He's got to know some drills I can do. You just watch guys. I'm going to be just as good as you one day!_

"What are you doing?"

"ACK!" I jumped horribly and fell backwards onto the foot rail for the next tier in the bleachers. Looking up, I found myself on the receiving end of a very strange look from Kojima. "Don't scare me like that!"

She smiled and handed me a piece of paper. "I didn't think you got to look at it." I took it. Next to my name in very sloppy handwriting was: **Center Midfielder. Good at stealing, needs to work on ball handling.** "I saw them too," she sat down next to me, "those guys that were laughing at us. Now I know why you want so bad to prove them wrong. Normally, I'd tell you to ignore it but if it motivates you… Well, whatever keeps you going, I suppose. I'm just worried about the rest of the team."

I frowned. "What about them? I'm sure they'll want to get better too."

"I'm not so sure. I don't know if they're all willing to work really hard to get better. I don't know if they're going to stick with it. I know some of them will… but even if we lose just 2 players it'll be over."

"If they aren't willing to put the hours in then they don't deserve to play for our team. If we can't play this year, we'll play next year. We'll make this work so cheer up, okay?"


	3. No need

Thank you to my single reviewer: Ominae! I'm so happy I got a reviewer that as soon as I figured out how to read the reviews I started to work on this chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 3: No Need**_

I slipped the Sakura Jousui jersey over my head and rounded up my gym bag. The team bus was sitting right outside the front gates.

"Good luck!" someone shouted. "You're gonna need it!"

"Yeah, you guys suck!"

A few feet ahead of me Miyuki- chan bowed her head slightly. That was bad. Miyuki is a good player unless she loses confidence. She gets distracted and loses all her will. I jogged up behind Miyuki and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't mind them," I told her. "So maybe our team isn't_ that_ good. How many people can improve as much as we have in only 2 weeks? Half of our players went from first- timers to game ready. Do you think they could do the same?"

She gave a hint of a smile. "Do you think we can win Casey- chan?"

I gave her a couple of pats on the back. "I don't know. I've never seen the other team play." She seemed a bit crest-fallen with that answer. "One thing's for sure, though, I'm not about to go down without a fight! We practiced too hard to give up before we even reach the pitch. And as one of our best players, you have to give it your all and keep the rest of the girls pumped up! Okay?"

She smiled and nodded before climbing on the bus. "We're going to give it all we've got! Right guys?"

The bus was strangely silent with everyone spread out and isolated. Some of them looked like they were holding back tears as some of their classmates walked by yelling things that were far from confidence boosting and well- wishing.

I sat in front of Eva and Miyuki tried to start a conversation with the rest of the team. Eva was the quiet, punk type so sitting by herself, absorbed in her thoughts, was not a rare occurrence.

We were still waiting for the captain to come when I heard Eva shift in her seat. Curious, I turned around to see what she was doing. She was scanning the school grounds. When she seemed satisfied she stuck her hand out of the open window and performed a hand gesture few adults would approve of.

I smirked. "Glad to see that some of us want to fight back rather than roll over and play dead."

She just glared at me, but she glares at everybody so I wasn't real worried. "I'm not going to let some idiots think they have any control over me. Stupid Seniors should learn to stay in their own school."

I couldn't help myself. I laughed. She flipped off a bunch of high school seniors. "Serves them right."

She smirked and held out her fist. I hit it lightly with my own and she went back to her staring out the window. Suddenly, I heard a banging on my window and looked out to see the group of seniors that had been the recent topic of conversation.

"What?"

"Don't 'what' me. I saw that," the biggest one yelled. And he was big. As in, 'I only go up to his waist,' big."

"I think you were supposed to see it. And honestly, I wish I could take credit for it."

Kojima suddenly climbed on the bus. "Okay! We're ready to go!"

Before the bus pulled away from the curb and some very confused-looking high schoolers I felt Eva lean over the seat and watched her give them the hand gesture again. Too bad I didn't get to se their reaction.

Kojima stood squarely at the front of the bus with her hands on her hips and an angry look on her face. Looking around I found each of my teammates exactly how they had been when I got on. And in the middle of it was Miyuki who had failed to convince anybody to lighten up and was now adding to the gloomy mood.

"What's this?" she demanded. "You look like you've already given up!" If all heads weren't bowed before, they were now. "All of the practicing we've been doing is for nothing then? You guys know how good you are, why are you taking _their_ word for it? They haven't seen how hard we've been practicing, how could they know?" Silence. "Fine! You guys do whatever. I'm not going to give up after all the practicing we've done, though. I'm not going to lose before the game has even started."

I heard Eva sigh from behind me and she stood up. I frowned and turned around. "How many of you joined the team to get impress someone?" Hesitant hands rose throughout the bus. "And how many of you joined to prove to yourself that you can do well in a sport?" A few more hands. "How many of you joined because you love soccer?"

I saw Kojima turn around from her seat in the front to watch how things progressed.

Eva continued. "Now answer me this: How impressive are you right now? Have you proved to yourself that you are good at soccer? Have you shown how much you love the sport?"

Now it was my turn. I stood up. "If you're here to win you aren't going to get anywhere. If you live to win, you will dwell on your losses. This is our first game! You should be excited to be out here playing!"

Surprisingly, Miyuki stood up next. "They think we're weak because we're girls! But we aren't weak and you know it! So don't get depressed."

_**Maiyo Middle School:**_

Chatter among the Sakura Jousui girl's team had picked up as everyone pulled on shin-guards and spikes and stretched out.

"They get kick off," Kojima told us. The team nodded.

"Hai!"

"We can do this, girls!" Miyuki shouted.

_**After the game (cause I'm bad at describing games)**_

"_**YATTA!"**_ Everybody that filed onto the bus was smiling.

"You guys were great!" I shouted. "We only lost by 2 points and you all did really well. All the practice paid off! We'll win the next one for sure!"

"Okay, okay. Everybody settle down now." Kojima stood up and faced the team. "We did well but there are things we still need to work on. The defense has got to learn how far forward is too far, the midfield has to give the forwards better passes, and Miyuki and I still need to work on shooting. Practice as usual on Monday."

The bus ride was lively with a constant flow of conversation. Everyone seemed eager to replay the better points of the game and willingly accepted the constructive criticism they were given. It was a definite change from this morning. That was, until we reached the school. Eva noticed it first.

I felt someone tapping my shoulder and turned to find Eva looking extremely angry. I frowned in confusion. "What's wrong Santino- chan?"

She said nothing, just jerked her thumb in the direction of the window which now faced the school. I could do little more than gape as I saw 2 boys putting the finishing touches on a large sign hanging against the wall of the school. When they saw the bus coming, the boys ran. Good thing too.

An anger I had never felt before bubbled up inside me. I wanted to strangle those guys. Before the bus had even rolled to a stop I was up and at the door. The bus driver had seen it too and, with a sympathetic smile, let me off the second we stopped moving.

I felt all of their eyes on me as I ran towards the sign, gripped one corner, and pulled. It came off easy enough but I couldn't stop. I ripped it to shreds. The entire thing. _We worked so hard. How could they do this to us? These girls don't deserve this. They don't deserve any of it._

It looked like nothing more than a tiny snowdrift when I finally heard the voices of my teammates. They stood in a semi- circle around me, trying to stop me. _Why are they trying to stop me?_ Looking down at my hands I found them red and shining with burns. _What?_ Kojima draped an arm over my shoulder.

"Casey, that's not paint. It's an acid. Come on, we need to get it washed off."

I followed her back to the bus where we grabbed some water bottles and she squirted them on my hands to wash off the chemical. It burned, but that's not why I was crying. The acid isn't what stung, it's what the acid spelled.

Across the school grounds, in a pile of shreds, a single letter survived. A letter that made up the phrase: **Sakura Jousui has no need for such a horrible soccer team.**


	4. If I just get better

_**Chapter 4: If I Just Get Better**_

I entered the school gates the morning after our first soccer game with my hands in my pockets. I had wrapped them after my parents left. They would have scolded me for doing something so stupid or pulled me off of the soccer team. I wasn't going to risk it.

"Casey- chan!" I turned and smiled at Kojima. She ran up to me with a smile on her face too. In the last 2 weeks we had become pretty good friends. Granted, I kept to myself most of the time and she was constantly out training by herself, but we were as close as we could get without being out of character. "You went to the doctor's and let them check out your hands right?"

"Of course." A lie. Her smile faltered as if she could tell that I wasn't being truthful but I assured her that I had.

She reached around into her back pack and pulled out a pair of thin gloves. "I didn't think you'd want people to stare at you so I brought you something to cover up the burns."

Smiling wider, I accepted them. Unfortunately, I must have put the bandages on wrong and she frowned at me.

"You didn't go to the doctor's." It was a statement, not a question.

"I'm fine, trust me. It won't get in the way. Thanks for the gloves." She crossed her arms stubbornly. "It isn't a big deal. We washed it off and I got some stuff to put on it. It will be fine, don't worry. Now I have to go if I want to make it to homeroom before the bell rings. Bye Kojima- chan!"

I could still feel her eyes boring into my back as I hurried down the hallway, trying not to look as uncomfortable as I felt. _She's still worried. _Sighing, I entered Katori- sensei's classroom a few seconds before the bell rang and took my seat.

_I just hope it doesn't distract her from soccer._

* * *

Come practice time Kojima-chan seemed to have forgotten about my burns and was focusing entirely on the team. I didn't mind. The only problem I had experienced that day was while trying to write. It put pressure on the burns and made them sting but it was nothing too bad.

"Keep going girls! We have another game this Saturday. We have to be ready! These guys will be faster, stronger, and more experienced than our last opponents were. You want to beat them right?"

I shook my head and concentrated on running. _I was so worried about Kojima- chan being worried that I just distracted myself. I have to get better. I __have__ to. _

* * *

"Coach Matsushita!" He turned at the sound of my voice but couldn't seem to find its source. "Coach Matsushita!" He gave me a thoughtful frown and smiled when recognition dawned on him.

"You're one of the girls from the other soccer team, right? I thought I remembered you."

_The 'other' soccer team?_ I took silent offense to that but kept my mouth shut.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes." I smiled politely. "I was wondering if you could train me a little. I saw the note you left about me needing to work on my ball- handling and I've found some other things I want to work on. Can you teach me some drills I can do to get better?"

"Training? When? You just had practice didn't you?"

"Yes, now, and yes again."

He frowned. "Are you sure? Aren't you… you know, tired? You should probably get some rest." He clapped me on the shoulder. "Maybe this weekend would be a better time."

"This weekend will be too late. I want to improve for our next game Saturday. I can stand a little extra training after practice. A midfielder has to have endurance right?"

Apparently, he was aware that I wasn't about to budge. He also must have sensed that I thought he was holding back because I was a girl. "If that's what you want, grab a ball and get out there."

I couldn't help but grin as I set my bag down and jogged over to claim a ball from the store room where they had recently been stowed away. Then it began…

* * *

_Ow. Ow. Ow. _Each step was painful, courtesy of the very long, very harsh, very helpful training under Matsushita- sensei. He wasn't a teacher at the school but he was teaching me a lot about soccer so I think he qualifies.

As you have probably guessed, I was too proud to show that last night's training had any affect on me but I found regular practice much more difficult than usual. And it didn't help that Kojima- chan was pushing us harder. She had seen me training with the coach before she went home and gained inspiration for the team-- inspiration that threatened to become too much to handle.

Never- the- less I found myself at the boy's soccer field after practice with a ball at my feet and Matsushita- sensei (he laughed when I first called him that) before me.

"You are quite stubborn aren't you?" Without waiting for an answer, he instructed me to begin the drills I had worked on last night. This time, however, he increased the tempo, pushing me to my limits. I thought about quitting a few times- just packing up and going home- but then I'd fall and my burns would sting, and I'd remember why I was here in the first place.

_I can't practice for the team, but maybe if I get better… Maybe I can convince them to get better too._

"No practicing tonight."

"What do you mean no practicing tonight?"

Matsushita- sensei sighed and placed his hands on my shoulders. "If you push yourself too hard tonight you won't be ready for the game tomorrow. Go home. Get some sleep. Be well rested for the game. You won't do any better by practicing now."

I reluctantly headed home, knowing he was right but feeling like I should be doing something.

"Don't even touch the ball tonight!" he called after me.

_I should be doing something. __Anything__. I won't be good enough for the game tomorrow. But he is right. No practice tonight. _

When I reached the house, the walk there seeming rather short, I kicked my shoes off and entered the empty living room. My parents would still be at work for the next hour at least. After a quick shower I came back in the room and saw my ball peaking out from behind the couch. Frowning, I picked it up.

_Just a little bit of playing wouldn't hurt. Right? _I shook my head and put it out on the porch. _No, I'm supposed to rest. I can't let my team down and that means I have to be rested for tomorrow. I'll just… watch TV! _Thankful for the distraction, I set on the couch and flipped through the channels, settling on a movie of my favorite anime. I remember the first 5 minutes of it.

* * *

"Casey? Casey, hun, wake up. It's 9:30."

I shot up, narrowly missing crashing my head into Mom's. "9:30! But… that means I only have 15 minutes before I have to be at school!"

"Relax," Mother soothed. "It's Saturday."

"I have a game today!" I threw back the blanket that someone had laid over me and dove for my room. _Why didn't I… My alarm clock._ I wanted to groan when I realized that I hadn't set my alarm before falling asleep on the couch.

I ended up getting dressed, pulling my hair up into a ponytail, and shoving a granola bar down my throat in less than 10 minutes. Mom had luckily understood the rush I was in and was waiting in the car in the driveway. I wanted to reach down and press the petal all the way to the floor but restrained myself.

_I still have a few minutes. They'll wait for me. They have to._ Clinging to this sliver of hope and the handle of the car door, I began searching the road ahead, straining to see the school and a bus that may or may not be waiting in the parking lot.

_Oh God, please don't be late._

* * *


	5. I have a plan

Chapter 5: I Have a Plan

_**Chapter 5: I Have a Plan**_

I could feel my fingernails digging into the door handle as I tried to use my magnificent X- ray vision to peer around the tree line into the school parking lot. It wasn't working. The parking lot formed an oval around a beautiful garden but I didn't pay it any attention. I was too focused on the piece of sidewalk that should have been invisible because of the bus parked in front of it.

It wasn't there.

I felt instant dread grip my insides like cold, hard fingers. They had left without me.

Mom suddenly slammed on the brakes when we had reached the parking lot exit, effectively blocking it off. "Hurry Hun. And take these." She handed me a box half full of granola bars. "You'll need all of the energy you can get."

Pride forgotten, I gaped openly at the bus currently pulling up to the stop sign a few meters away. The trees had hid it as it was going around the corner. We had gotten there just in time. Had we been even 5 seconds later than we were, we would have been too late. I let out a huge breath I hadn't known-- but had guessed-- I'd been holding.

With shaking fingers, I grabbed the box from my mom and the bag at my feet and ran out to the bus as fast as my legs would carry me. It felt good after all of the stress I had just built up.

The bus driver smiled when he opened the doors for me but I sensed something else behind it. It was like he was trying to tell me something. Crap.

Kojima- chan stood right beside him with her hands set stubbornly on her hips. "You're late."

I jumped on the bus-- almost like I thought it would leave without me if I didn't board quickly-- before bowing deeply to her. "I'm _so_ sorry. I really didn't mean to over sleep. I forgot to set my alarm and I almost never wake up this late anyways and I…" I dropped my voice to a whisper to prevent it from breaking. "I'm sorry."

I couldn't exactly figure out why my eyes were stinging with tears. It was an impulse that had always come up when ever I was under a lot of stress. Or maybe it was just that I was so disappointed. I was supposed to be there for the team. I was _always_ supposed to be there.

And yet, I had come close to abandoning them. _What is wrong with me?_

"Miss?" The bus driver tapped me on the shoulder and I realized that I was still bowing. "You'll have to sit down before we can get going."

Another hand grabbed me and pulled me into a seat. It was Kojima and she was not giving me any other option than the spot beside her.

"You nearly miss the bus and the best excuse you have to give me is that you slept in?" My lap was suddenly very interesting. "You are really lucky, you know that? I should make you sit on the bench for this game."

That got my attention. I ceased playing with the broken trimming on my shorts and looked up at her. The entire game! I had been working really hard all week for this game. I couldn't waste it on the bench! "Kojima- chan." My voice would still not come out above a whisper.

She didn't meet my eyes and simply stared out of the window stubbornly. She seemed to be less of a friend now, and more of a captain.

Knowing that she wouldn't change her mind, I moved back a few seats and stared at my hands in my lap. _Not play the game? I'm so stupid. How could I have forgotten something so important? What was I thinking?_ Small bubbles of something appeared on my now clenched fists. It took me a minute to realize that they were tears. _And now I'm crying! I am such a weakling. I don't deserve to be on the team. I don't deserve to be on this bus with all of these girls who have been so loyal to each other._

"Casey- chan?" Looking up I saw Kojima looking over the backrest at me. I looked back down at my lap.

"Yes Kojima- san?" _Kojima- san? I haven't called her that since my first day at school._ Had I been looking at her I would have seen the hurt on her face.

"I'm sorry. I was harsh. Obviously you didn't mean it. You are being hard enough on yourself without me making it worse. I'd _never _pull you out of the game. I know how hard you've been working for it."

I looked up at her and wiped the tears off of my face. "Thanks Kojima- chan."

"Yuki- chan," she corrected. I smiled wider. Then she gave me an exasperated look. "You really are horrible at putting those things on you know."

Grabbing my hand, she unwrapped the bandages around them, gave the burns a brief inspection- which they apparently passed- and wrapped them again.

* * *

"_**YATTA!**_" I rubbed my ears as the bus load of junior- high girls simultaneously screamed in joy. "We tied!"

Kojima was grinning ear to ear in such a way as I had never seen. It was obvious that she was bursting with pride. I myself was smiling so much that I thought my face would crack in 2. It was painful to be so happy.

"You guys were awesome! I can't believe how well you all did! All we need now is experience. We just need to perfect your skills and we'll be ready for the tournament!"

All went silent. Miyuki was the first to speak. "What tournament Kojima- chan?"

"I didn't tell you?" No reply. Unaffected, her grin returned. "I signed us up for the district tournament! That is… unless you don't want to go." She turned her back and smirked, knowing full well what their responses would be.

Or she thought she knew. In a wave of bodies and screams of joy she was tackled onto the back seat of the bus.

"Okay, okay!" she shouted. "Everybody sit down so we can get going. I'll explain everything on the way home." Suddenly the back seat of the bus was the focus of many eyes peering out from behind seats that held 2 or 3 more people than they should have. All of the players had scrambled to find a spot to sit nearby, eager to hear about the tournament.

"Well?" Keiko prodded. "Tell us about the tournament!"

"The tournament's in 3 weeks. If we get in the top 2 we get to move up another level and play teams from 5 other districts. I think we can do it guys. I think we have what it takes to win!" Another round of cheers.

The rest of the ride home was much the same as the first game, though with less criticism and more talk of how they were going to practice for hours when they got home to get ready for the tournament. In fact, there was even talk of extending practice, but a decision was never reached before the bus braked to a stop.

The team was gathering their things and preparing to depart when Eva stood in the middle of the aisle, anger and disgust coloring her face and voice.

"Before you leave, we'll have a meeting on the steps."

There was only a few minutes of confusion before the source of her irritation was discovered. Another sign hung on the front doors of the school. This time it read: **You'll never be good enough.**

Eva was the leader in this particular meeting. Distress had faded and a smirk had replaced it. Everyone exchanged uncertain looks. Many had seen this particular look on her face before and knew what became of it. The rest of the girls must have simply followed their instincts.

"You see that girls?" She pointed at the sign behind them. "I don't know about you but I am tired of seeing things like this. And I have a plan."


	6. Moving In

Hey Readers! Okay, I want to send a special shout out to Ominae and randomcat23. They are my favorite (never mind only) reviewers. Please, I'm getting desperate! Please review! Oh, and the boys will come in eventually, though it probably won't be for another few chapters.

Disclaimer: Don't own Whistle!

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_**Chapter 6: Moving In**_

Dragging my suitcase up to the school gates I turned and headed behind the building. You may ask why I have my suitcase and where I am headed. It's simple really. It is the first step in Santino- chan's plan. Behind the school building is a dorm building that they used to rent out to teachers over the summer when they didn't bring home paychecks. Now, with permission from the principle, it was the home of the girl's soccer team, Katori- sensei-- posing as the coach-- and Eva's grandmother for a chaperon.

Of course, this was not the extent of Eva's plan, but it would succeed in making the team closer and would greatly improve teamwork. All team members were to be at the dorms by 4:00 on Sunday to settle in and hear the rest of this 'master plan.'

I didn't care how horrible the rest of this plan was, it was already good enough for me! So with a faint smile, I pulled open the large wooden door of the 3- story building and draged my luggage in behind me.

"Casey- chan!" Miyuki called. She was standing behind the couch with her eyes fixed on a TV screen. "There you are! Almost everyone's here now!"

"Almost everyone?" I mumbled frowning. I quickly counted the heads in the lobby. 12 including me and the chaperons. "Where's Yuki- chan?"

"She's the only person that isn't here yet." Miyuki's face fell a bit and she returned to her normal, reserved self. "Maybe I should call her. She might have gotten in trouble on the way here or..." I grabbed her by the shoulders, effectively interrupting her. The poor girl was scaring herself witless. Her voice had risen in pitch and her face was the picture of worry.

"Settle down," I told her gently. "Yuki-chan is fine, I'm sure of it. You know she isn't the kind of person to be held back by _anything. _If she thinks you should be worried she would run in here with a broken leg trying to comfort you."

I'm not sure the whole 'with a broken leg' thing went over well in her head but she seemed to get the big picture and her smile returned, even if it was a bit strained. "Your right." She managed to coax a laugh out. "That sounds just like Kojima- chan. She's always thinking about the team before herself. Thank you Casey- chan."

"That's my girl." I smiled reassuringly and released her before gathering my suitcase again. "I'm gonna go pick a room and unpack. The doors are all unlocked right?"

"Yes. After you pick a room you come down here and tell Katori- sensei what number it is. She'll get you a key. All the taken rooms have a sticky-note on the door."

"Okay, thanks Miyuki- chan!" I climbed a set of stairs and went to the end of the hall. The corner rooms were claimed so I climbed another set of stairs. The third floor had worn, dark green carpet, unlike the maroon colored carpet in the rest of the building. Apparently they had neglected to refurnish this floor because of the little it had been used. Fewer sticky-notes decorated the doors up here. I chose the room in the corner. It had a large window on each wall, a single bed pushed up against the far wall, a chest of drawers directly to the left of the door, and to the right I discovered a small bathroom. The room wasn't very big but it wasn't constricting either. I liked it.

I put my clothing in the drawers and pulled out an alarm clock that I set to my watch and placed on a small bedside table. That done I took out the rest of my things (sketchbook, soccer ball, a book, etc.) and littered them throughout the room. I also jumped on the bed once or twice to make it look a bit messy and more like home.

Then, lying on my back, I thought about Yuki-chan's absence. Yes, what I said earlier was true, but she also _hates _to be late for that very reason. What could be holding her up?

I stood and walked over to the window, leaning against the frame and fixing my gaze on a random spot, which turned out to be not so random: the front gate. A few moments later, as if on cue, Yuki walked right into my line of vision, startling me out of my thoughts. I hurriedly ran down the stairs. Had she walked here? Her house was more than a mile away.

Sure enough, Yuki gave me a tired but warm smile when I opened the door for her and her 2 duffle bags. She was panting a bit. I think she knew I had a few questions for her because she just nodded her head in the direction of the stairs. I took a bag and we traveled to the 2nd floor together. She raised an eyebrow as she looked about the hallway. "The doors with the sticky notes on them are taken," I explained. She just nodded and started up the next set of stairs.

After a quick look around, she chose the room next to mine and ushered me in, closing the door behind me. I didn't waste time.

"So what's up?"

She sighed and began to unpack. I sat and waited patiently on her bed. She rarely said anything unless she was good and ready. I wouldn't be able to get it out of her any quicker. Finally, she paused, holding a t-shirt. I noticed the cloth wrinkle a bit as she dug her fingers into it in a frustrated grip. "My parents don't want me here."

"Pardon?" I gestured for her to expand on the answer.

"My parents said I couldn't come. They were even thinking of telling me I can't play soccer anymore. Mom says it's a guy's sport." She didn't look up, didn't even turn in my direction. She just kept her back to me.

I wanted to explode. That was the whole reason we were doing this! It was all to prove that girls could play soccer too. But I didn't explode. I just walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her in a hug from behind. Tears were sliding silently down her face. "We won't let them," I told her. "We won't let them take soccer from you."

* * *

_**4:00**_

"Okay everyone, sit down and shut up!" Eva yelled. Everyone obeyed quickly, eager to hear what she had to say. She seemed a bit surprised at this but quickly masked it. "Okay then. I've talked to the captain and we've agreed that not only will this living in the same building help us improve, it will also show everyone else how close we are as a team. Kojima-san is going to explain the schedule to everyone and I'll move in with the rules for the rest of my plan."

All eyes turned to the team captain. Kojima stood from her place on the couch and went to stand in front of the TV next to Eva where she could see everybody. "Alright, first off: I'm sorry to say that we will have a curfew." There was a collective groan. "Yes, yes. I know. Everyone is to be inside by 9:00 and lights out at 10:00 unless there is a special occasion. Everyone wakes up at 6:00. You'll have half an hour to wake up, get stretched out and such and we'll go for a jog around town. When we get back, everyone can shower and get ready for school. Right after school we will have regular practice but it will last until 5:30. 6:00 is supper and homework. That's about it. I'll place a schedule on the door so everybody can see it."

Kojima returned to her seat and Eva stepped forward again. Everyone shifted excitedly. "Rule number 1: If you aren't going to be here you must give a note to Katori-sensei or Obaasan. Rule #2: no guys." Another groan was about to escape the group but Eva didn't pause and they all fell silent so as not to miss anything. "Rule #3: If you go to a party, everyone goes with you. In short, we stick to our teammates. We'll protect each other, help each other, and we'll show everyone that they cannot break us. When they see that we don't need them they will respect us as a team."

"So you're saying we should isolate ourselves from everybody?" Keiko demanded. Many others jumped in with their opinions.

"That's so stupid!"

"We can't do that!"

"I shouldn't have come."

"SILENCE!" Eva shouted. It was nearly loud enough to shake the windows. Nearly. "So maybe it isn't the most appealing option, but do you want people to walk all over you?" Nobody responded. "They think we're weak. They think that we are going to rely on them. They're wrong. And besides, I have a great idea for a prank." She looked pointedly at Katori-sensei.

The teacher's eyes widened momentarily and she covered her ears, leaving the room. "I hear nothing!"

Now everyone was paying attention again. I have to admit it: I was leaning forward expectantly myself. Eva smirked mischievously. "I hope nobody's afraid of getting in trouble."


	7. The History of 'Yukichan'

Greetings people

Greetings people! Okay, I spent a bit of time daydreaming about this fic so the chapters will probably come pretty quick. Enjoy! Oh, and you'll see the results of their prank and the boy's team will make their appearance in the next chapter!

_**Chapter 7: The history of 'Yuki-chan'**_

We were discussing the details of the prank when it started. Eva's grandmother (who we all called Obaasan) gently tapped Yuki-chan on the shoulder. She looked somber and motioned for Yuki to follow her outside. I had received my orders (disclosed) and had time to be curious as to where she was going. I left for the 'little girls' room' and when I got there I stood on the toilet seat to look out the small, high placed window.

Okay, so it was spying. It was bad to spy but I was thankful that my curiosity had overwhelmed me because what I saw made my heart skip a beat.

Obaasan stood back about 10 meters and looked on the argument with a calm silence. Yuki was facing 2 people that looked a bit like her-- I assumed they were her parents. The man had a hold of her wrist and was attempting to pull her toward a car but she had stubbornly dug her heels into the dirt. She was shouting something but I couldn't hear it.

I figure I got many confused looks as I bolted through the lobby but they must have gone back to their planning because nobody followed me. I busted through the door and sprinted toward Yuki but a hand grabbed my wrist and stopped me. It was Obaasan.

She shook her head at me. I stopped pulling. So I couldn't help her physically and she probably wouldn't want my help verbally either. I'd have to settle for moral support. "Yuki-chan!"

What happened next was quite strange. Everybody froze. I blinked in confusion while Yuki's parents looked back and forth between me and their daughter. "I love soccer," Yuki whispered, "and I love my team." Silent understanding seemed to pass between the 3 and I was still standing in the background, thoroughly confused. Then, Yuki's mother walked up to me and gave me a hug. I patted her uncertainly on the back. When she returned to her husband's side she gently convinced the man to let Yuki go and they both left without a word.

I couldn't help it. When Yuki came and smiled at me I gave the most intelligent reply I could summon. "Huh?" 4.0 material there.

A few minutes later we could be found in Yuki's room, both sitting cross-legged on her bed.

"Okay," I said, getting right down to business. "What happened out there? Your parents just... left. Without a word! And why did your mom hug me?" I demanded. This didn't make sense in my head.

She smiled, but it was a sad smile. "You called me Yuki-chan." She said that like it explained everything.

I crossed my arms. "You have to stop being so vague with me. The dots don't connect... or at least they don't make a picture. Explain yourself!" I ordered mockingly.

It drew a quiet laugh from her. "It started when I was 5. I had a friend. She was the only one that ever called me Yuki-chan. _Ever._ Anyways, we were walking to school one day when a car came around the corner. It was swerving all over the street, the driver was drunk. It came up onto the sidewalk, crashed through a mailbox and hit Ame." Yuki stretched out and lay down with her hands behind her head. Every now and then she would wipe away a silent tear.

I stretched out next to her and she made room for me to copy her position on the small bed.

"Ame died in the hospital the next day." I gave her a sympathetic look and finally began to understand why the name 'Yuki-chan' was so special. "I cried for days and refused to go to school. I focused all of my efforts on soccer. Since then, I haven't let anyone call me that. No one but you."

She propped herself up on one elbow and looked at me. She still had tears on her face but she was smiling through them. I silently handed her a tissue and she wiped them away.

"You remind me of her. That's why I let you—no--told you to call me that. I feel like I've met her all over again." She lay back on her bed and closed her eyes, smiling at something I couldn't see. I let her stay that way and just lay next to her until I heard a knock on the door. My eyes snapped open. _The team! We probably worried them, what with the way we were acting._ Yuki hadn't moved and I assumed she had fallen asleep.

I stood silently and answered the door. Miyuki was standing there timidly with a worried look on her face. "Hey Miyuki," I whispered, not wanting to wake up Yuki.

"Is everything okay?" she asked hesitantly. "Kojima-chan has been acting weird all day and you guys just sort of went off on your own..."

"It's alright, we have everything sorted out now," I assured her.

"Oh. Well, Eva-san said we're supposed to go get some things for the prank." She held up a list and the combined allowances of the team as evidence. I smiled and took a look at the list. I wanted to smirk evilly but contained it for Miyuki-chan's sake.

"Let's go then! I never did like shopping, but I'll make an exception this time."

I couldn't help but stay crouched down, adrenaline running hard through me and excited on the verge of being giddy. It would be so very easy for us to get caught. Everyone wore masks and gloves and we had taken extra precautions against later accusations but it would only take one person looking out the window to ruin it all. Even though we would probably get caught anyways it was always fun to pretend.

Anyways, Eva-chan was right in front of me, picking the lock on the side door of the school. The front door was better secured and would make it easier to be seen. She was also naming off the things we would need in a hushed voice and I would respond after confirming our inventory.

"Spray paint?"

"Check."

"Duct tape?"

"Check."

"Super glue?"

"Heh, check."

Finally, a satisfying 'click' sounded, making a few of us very tense girls jump sky high. I heard others smothering a laugh but didn't care. Eva opened the door and led the way in, covering up the single security camera that guarded it. The rest of us split up and fanned out across the school to wreck anonymous havoc.

It's a short chapter I know. I'm sorry! I'll work on the next one soon, I promise.


	8. The Aftermath

Okay. As promised, this chapter came out pretty quick. Enjoy! And the boys come in in this chapter (more at the end). Romance to come, couples not yet decided.

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_**Chapter 8: The Aftermath**_

All of us made our way to school the next morning with a smile on our faces. We couldn't help ourselves. Revenge was so sweet. Before we even reached the front door we were greeted by various, unhappy-looking students and teachers. Katori-sensei was following us somewhat fearfully.

I think she covered her eyes when we stepped into the hallway. Part 1 of Operation Payback: locker decorations. We had figured out the names and locker numbers of those who had discouraged us, hung bashing signs, and even once or twice messed up our equipment. Their lockers had been spray-painted and- in the worst case scenario- glued and duct taped shut. The worse the crime, the better the revenge. The hallways were flooded with confused and excited students, more cursing teachers, and irritated police officers. (I paled slightly at this and was suddenly glad that we had taken so many precautions. Unlike the school, they couldn't label us criminals without cold, hard evidence)

The team captains of the school looked particularly unhappy. The reason? Part 2: Abracadabra. Their equipment had gone missing. It would turn up though... sooner or later.

And finally, the last part of operation Payback: classroom makeover. The marker board was covered with pictures made of permanent marker (my job), the legs of desks and chairs had been removed and thrown hastily against the wall while the rest of the objects had been arranged creatively in the center of the room, the extra text books were stacked underneath the legs of the teacher's desk which had been the foundation of the sculpture, and the drawers of the desk and file cabinets had been hidden above the ceiling tiles.

All in all it would earn quite a big fine for vandalism should the police get involved. Oops.

Everyone turned around simultaneously and glared at us. "You did this!" There was a round of agreements in the crowd and 2 police officers stepped forward followed by a group of teachers.

Yuki took half a step forward as well. As the team captain is was her job to lead the team and be the first to defend them. "I'd like to see your proof!" she growled. The officers shifted uncomfortably under the stares of everyone in the hallway. "I thought as much. You can't accuse my team of this. Now if you'll excuse us, we need to visit our lockers... unless class has been cancelled."

Katori-sensei answered. "First period will be used to clean up this mess. Go to your homerooms and you'll be given what you need." The other teachers glared accusingly at her but the team thanked her and filed through the crowd. Once out of earshot I heard several sighs.

"You heard the lady!" Yuki announced. "Get your things and get to homeroom!"

* * *

Everything was pretty quiet while we were cleaning. Many people were glaring at us irritably but few said anything. The police left after a couple of hours spent in vain. Everyone knew who pulled the prank but nobody was able to prove it... thank God. 

It took longer then the teachers expected and we cleaned until lunch. The team was all gathered in the lobby of the dorms eating the specially made, nutritionally balanced lunches we had all helped prepare. We were definitely excited about soccer, can't you tell? Anyways, we were sitting there when the guys team burst in, led by Mizuno and a red-faced Shige.

_Oh yeah. I forgot they practice during lunch. _

"What was that for!" Shige demanded. "All of our equipment is gone! What are we supposed to do now?"

Yuki stood up and gave them a blank look. "I don't know what you're talking about, but these dorms are for the girl's soccer team until 3 days after the district tournament."

"How could you do this?" Mizuno interjected. It was very difficult to upset the boy but it looked as if we had succeeded in doing so. Hurray us. "We helped you guys get started, we helped you improve, and we even gave some of our practice time to help you."

"And yet some of your teammates' names came up when we figured out who put up the signs on the front of the school after our game. And their names appeared again when I inquired as to who had insulted us, let the air out of our equipment, and stolen the nets out of our goals." Yuki was going just as red-faced as Shige had been coming through the door and she folded her arms, turning her back on them. "Besides, it happened to all of the other teams our school considered to be sports. Why wouldn't it happen to you?"

The anger disappeared from all of their faces and was instead replaced by a look of shock. "W-who?" His voice had dropped to almost a whisper.

"Why do you ask me?" He looked back at his team with the face of one who had just been betrayed. 3 heads bowed guiltily. (They aren't starters) She nodded to me and turned to face them again. I reached under the coffee table and retrieved a cardboard box full of soccer balls. "Since you have helped though..."

I walked up to Mizuno with the box in my arms. I could probably fit in it so watching me hold it was probably humorous. He took the box and looked at it with distaste. "How generous of you." He was angry at his team but that didn't mean he wasn't still angry with us.

"We could dispose of those for you as well if you would prefer," I snarled back. He said nothing. I let my voice fall so that only he could hear me and I let it soften. "The girls deserve this revenge... you know that."

I turned my back on him and returned to my spot on the couch. When I finally turned my gaze back to them they were leaving. Mizuno was shouting again, saying things like: "You 3 owe me 5 laps when we get back!" I heard several girls giggle as they left. The rest of the guy's team was silent except for some groans from the few who had to run.

* * *

"Hey ladies!" A brunette with a rather large face burst through the door followed by some other, normal-sized and familiar faces. 

"Shut up Masato!" Shige sighed as he hit the boy upside the head.

"Itai! What was that for?"

"What's going on?" Yuki demanded. All eyes turned to the group of boys standing in the narrow doorway, all carrying bags and suitcases. By the look on her face she had come to the same conclusion I had. "Please don't tell me you're... GAH!"

She was interrupted by a tackle from several of her old teammates. "Hey roomy!"

"Pardon?" I asked, trying to unbury our captain before she was crushed.

The Kazamatsuri boy I saw in class on my first day smiled when I pulled him to his feet and grabbed the back of another shirt. "The team has decided to live in the dorms too and the principle agreed to it after school today!"

"He did what?" Yuki choked, finally freeing herself from the giant group hug and escaping to the safety of the far side of the room. They all just laughed and slowly but surely picked themselves up off of the floor. I was able to recognize a few of them. There was Takai Masato and Koga Yoshihiko from history class; Fuwa Daichi, Gomi Kaoru, Kazamatsuri Sho, and Sato Shigeki from math; and Toyama Ippei, Tanaka Mamoru, Mroinaga Yusuke, and Hideomi Noro from science. There were a few others like: Mizuno Tatsuya, Yamaguichi Santa, and (Insert 3 more unimportant names here) I also saw Coach Matsushita and a handsome- looking blonde (Kazamatsuri Kou) behind them. (AN I don't know what grades they're in so bear with me)

"HEY!" I shouted to get everyone's attention. Most of them looked in my direction but not a lot of them. I counted heads while waiting for them to take the hint and shut up. "Okay, we have 30 people all together and 20 rooms. If there are more beds we can share rooms but if there aren't we won't have enough rooms."

"There are more beds in the storage room," Masato shouted in response.

"Isn't the storage room on the other side of the school?" Yuki demanded "...Anyways, Casey-chan's right, if I thought this out right the chaperons and the team captains can get a room to themselves and everyone else will have to share. That will leave 2 rooms open." Several groans issued from 'everyone else.' "The extra rooms can be for each team."

"Sounds good," Matsushita interrupted. "Okay, everyone, pair up and go get a bed from the storage room. Captains, hold doors."

"We have to carry the beds here?" Santa shouted in exasperation.


	9. Midnight Fights

Hey! Thanks again Random Cat and Ominae. You guys have been really helpful. You are awesome! And I'm so sorry it took so long!

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_**Chapter 9: Midnight Fights**_

I grunted as I set the new bed frame down next to mine. Miyuki and I had agreed to share my room. With a sigh of relief she collapsed onto the worn mattress.

I laughed a bit. "Sorry girl. We have to go get your things." She sighed again and reluctantly stood. She led the way out of the room, down the stairs, and through an open door. Inside, her things were organized neatly on the dresser, the floor was spotless, and the bed was perfectly made. Or it would have been if its inhabitant hadn't been so excited as to feel the need to jump on it.

"MIYUKI-CHAN!" I winced and she grimaced as an overexcited brunette rushed to her side. So this was Santa.

"Hello," she said mildly, nodding a greeting to Noro who was, apparently, trying to push himself through the wall in an attempt to put a distance between himself and his new roommate.

Noticing that she wasn't going to say it, I stepped in. I never had been a social person but I would deal. "Okay boys. Get out so she can pack again." I grabbed Santa's (who currently had hearts in his eyes) arm and pulled him out. Noro followed timidly and quietly shut the door behind himself. I cracked it open a bit and told her I was going to find Eva. When I closed it, I rounded on Santa. "You'll stay out of the room until she is finished. Is that clear?" You can't help but be protective of Miyuki. She's Miyuki.

He nodded slowly. I think I might have scared him. You know, I've been trying to figure out why people are so afraid of me. I never really thought of myself as scary. Anyhoo... Eva was in her old room repacking. I leaned against the doorframe, under no illusion that she wasn't aware of my presence. I had seen her awareness on the field before. It was very thorough.

"Can I help you?" See?

"Yeah." I closed the door. "How is this going to work? Guys and girls in the same building. It doesn't mesh with your plan. Not to mention you have half of the Mizuno Fan Club under the same roof as their crush. What are we going to do?"

She sighed and straitened, turning to look at me for the first time. "I don't know. The best idea I can come up with is to keep everybody busy and separate, but that won't last long." She sat down on her bed and groaned. "It's not working!"

"It's okay," I told her, sitting down next to her and patting her back. She glared at me and I pulled back. She wasn't the kind of person that needed comfort. Like me, if a solution was going to be reached, she was going to reach it on her own. She needed no help and I respected that. "We'll come up with something. In the meantime, let's go get supper. I think there are a few people who could use your expertise in science," I told her, referring to the homework we had gotten today. I was the math expert, Yuki-chan was the literature expert, Eva was the science expert, and Keiko (who was under the impression that she wasn't any good) was the history expert. We all expected our grades to rise a smidge as a result of working together to complete homework. Katori-sensei seemed particularly happy about that.

She nodded but made no move to get up. I left her there. She would begin moving again when she had her thoughts sorted out. I'd just have to wait. _After all, _I thought, walking down the hallway distractedly, _this has thrown a wrench in the works. It's too bad that Eva-san wants to fix it all on her own though. They say 2 heads are better than-._

My train of thought was abruptly interrupted as I walked around the corner onto the stairs and bumped into a rather tall, rather serious-looking figure. "O-oh, sorry..." I stuttered quietly. I stutter a lot when I'm surprised or haven't thought out exactly what I'm going to say. Not looking up, I walked briskly around the figure and started down the stairs.

_Where was I? Oh right, better than one._

"Hey!" I jumped and turned to find that I had walked into Tatsuya Mizuno. He had always seemed pretty emotionless to me. No, not emotionless, guarded. Like he was always involved in some internal struggle and didn't want anything to interfere with it. It almost made me think he was a bit fragile, though everyone else would disagree. His fangirls would just argue that he was too cool to show any emotions. They thought that having no emotions made you strong. I know better. It's not the extent of your emotions but rather how you deal with them. They'll come, like it or not, but if you learn to stay calm you'll have no problem.

Anyways, he looked like he was struggling with his words. Like there was something he wanted to say but he couldn't find a way to put things together so they made sense. It happens to the best of them. Or if you're like me and you aren't good with words and how the arrange them to get your point across-- the worst of us.

"Nevermind." He turned and continued down the hall without another word, looking for all the world like he was mentally kicking himself and still trying to make his sentences at the same time. I frowned thoughtfully at his back. _What's going on? _

"Casey-chan! I need help with a math problem!"

"S-sure. Just let me grab something to eat."

* * *

I rolled over, unable to find a comfortable spot on the mattress. Normally I slept through the night, but something was nagging at me. Like I'd forgotten something. But what? I hated this feeling. With a sigh, I sat up on my bed and looked out of the window placed just above my bed. My eyes drifted towards the horizon until it registered. Something was amiss. _That light._ I followed the source of the light, nearly pressing my face against the glass and moving to the side until I could clearly make out the small square of yellow that clung to the wall of a small shed. The same shed that had been granted to the girl's soccer team for their equipment.

_Nobody should be out there this late, it's 2:00 in the morning! Did somebody leave the light on? No, I was the last person out and I'm sure I turned it off. Well... I'm pretty sure. _I did that often, second-guessing myself even when I remember things clearly. Just then, a figure passed said window, a mere silhouette, but I knew immediately they did not belong there. They were far too big to be any of my team. That means they were snooping. But if I could figure out who it was, maybe I could report them.

Excitedly, I discarded my pajama shorts in favor of jeans. I was in the hallway when I heard the door at the end open. I froze for a moment before jumping behind the small end-table between mine and Kojima's door. It was Shige. He mumbled something inaudible while I was praying fiercely that the shadows were thick enough to hide me. I soon realized, however, that in order to get caught, Shige had to wake up first.

_He's sleep-walking! _"Pochi! Get me a sandwich..." he mumbled. I tried to hold in my laughter and cautiously followed him down the stairs. _Who's Pochi?_ I left him at the kitchen, hoping he wouldn't drown himself in the sink and proceeded to the door. The lock clicked loudly, making me cringe. That's when it hit me. _What am I thinking? Report them? After what we did? There's no way the teachers-- or anyone else for that matter-- will give them a second glance. It will just be 'conveniently' looked over. Besides, we put all of our equipment in the team room. _I wrestled with my thoughts before deciding to go and see who it was anyways. _The teachers won't do anything but the team might. It will make them feel better if they know who tried to break in._

I ignored my tennis shoes and crept barefoot across the school grounds, feeling exposed. If one of them looked out of that window now, I'd be in big trouble. Ghosting over, I sat for a moment before gaining the courage to look through the window. _I mean, surely they would see me._ But they didn't. Eyes wide, I ducked back out of sight and tried to calm my breathing. It was the captain of the wrestling team and his brainless friends, come to get revenge for gluing their lockers shut.

_I'm so stupid! I shouldn't have left without telling someone. If they find me, They'll beat me senseless and I won't be able to play in the next game! Wait, is it normal to be worried about an upcoming game at a time like this? Probably not. Well, what is normality anyways? Besides, there's a shovel right there. I'll use it if I need to. _Sure enough, there was an old, dirty shovel leaning against the wall. _Wait a minute! A shovel? _I studied the ground around me to find a broken padlock nearby. _So they used it to break in._

Suddenly, the light went out. My heart skipped a beat. I was right next to the street, they would pass right by me while they were leaving! _Crap! _I got up to run and guess what happened next. I tripped. That's right, of all the times for me to be clumsy, it was now. Worse yet, I knocked the shovel over. It clattered against the gravel with such impossible noise that I thought for sure it would wake up anyone within a half block radius. Heart beating madly, I tried to get up quickly but I wasn't quick enough. A hand grabbed the back of my shirt firmly and pulled me back on my butt. A flashlight shined in my face and I protected my eyes from the light. The light disappeared and the hard plastic crashed into the side of my head. I grunted in pain.

"What are you doing snooping around here?" the captain demanded.

"I should be asking _you_ that!" I snarled back. This time he back-handed me, sending me rolling a meter or so. I grunted again and glared up at him. This time, he received retaliation. I just wish I could have given it to him. A fist smashed into his jaw and he was sent sprawling. In his place stood a proud-looking Shige. Unfortunately, the captain's friends were not about to let him get away with that and had no qualms about playing dirty. One was about to attack him from behind so I did the first thing that came to my mind, I pushed him out of the way. A large foot hit me in the stomach rather than hitting Shige in the back. This time I flew further but the gravel didn't seem so hard.

Of course, it wasn't gravel.

"You okay?" Mizuno demanded. Without waiting for an answer, he put in his own 2 cents by throwing his knee into the last thug's abdomen. The 3 quickly picked themselves up and exited stage left. The squeal of tires was heard soon after as well as the soft padding of slippered feet. Yuki-chan rounded the corner at full speed and skidded to a stop before me.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," I assured her. It didn't work. At least Shige input a bit of comic relief, momentarily distracting her.

"You're just lucky I'm a light sleeper!" He struck hero pose #43, arms crossed, chest puffed out, and foot propped up on bad guy's stomach/back (or in this case, a soccer ball, seeing as the 'bad guys' were already gone).

"That's debatable," Yuki snorted.

"The lucky part or the light sleeper part?" Mizuno asked with mock curiosity.

"Both. So who really woke you up?"

"Oh, he woke himself up... by sleepwalking right into my door."

**"Hey! I saved the day here, quit making fun of me!"**


	10. Hitana Middle

Okay. I'm back. I just got the manga books #4 and 5 yesterday so I'm totally motivated right now. Moving on… please review. I have 24 hits for my last chapter and I know they didn't all come from 3 people. At least say 'hi!'

* * *

_**Chapter 10: Hitana Middle**_

"Are you _sure_ you're okay?"

"Dang it, Yuki-chan! You know you're my best friend but if you ask me that one more time I _might _have to hit you," I growled. Yuki had bugged me all morning with that question and I was loosing my patience.

"Right. Sorry." She turned back to our teammates (who were stretching). "Okay everyone. Let's go." They nodded and stood, following their captain down the sidewalk at a jog. "Where are we going today?"

"How about Central Park?" Miyuki suggested.

"That's a long way."

"Well, we could take a break there and practice a bit. After all, we have our soccer balls." It was true. Yuki had suggested that we all start dribbling on our morning jogs. Luckily, we had begun to store our equipment and school books in our rooms instead of the storage shed and lockers incase of anyone seeking revenge. That way, we escaped unscathed.

After about 3 km of jogging we arrived at the park. Yes, 3 km! It turns out running in town is a lot easier than running in circles. There were more distractions. That didn't mean we weren't all bent over panting when we finally got there. Another thing, it took about 25 minutes to get there. If it hadn't been Saturday, we wouldn't have made it back in time to get to class. We didn't have any more games until the tournament next weekend so we didn't have a match right after either.

"Good job girls! ...We made it," Yuki panted. "We'll be ready for... our game next Saturday... for sure!"

"For sure?" We turned to see another group of 15 girls about 20 meters away. Their leader, a sturdy-built girl a few centimeters taller than Yuki, had a soccer ball tucked under her arm. All of them wore Hitana (no idea where these names are coming from) Middle School uniforms. I frowned, wondering what they were doing here. "You're Sakura Josui, right? I believe we are your opponents next weekend, so I wouldn't be so confident if I were you."

"Confident is better than cocky," Eva smirked. Their leader frowned. "Nice to see you again, _Yume-chan,_" she cooed.

Yume gave Eva a look of distaste, voice dripping with venom. "You're with them? Should've known you'd turn traitor."

"I **would** be a traitor if Hitana Middle's soccer team had been worthy of my trust. You're just sour because now that you're goalie instead of forward _everyone's_ scoring a lot more," Eva sneered. Clearly, this had been the team she was on before moving here 2 years ago and this was an old feud. She was enjoying this.

Yume's scowl deepened. "I'm flattered that you checked up on me."

"Don't be. Me and Nami were having a good laugh over it a few weeks ago." She waved her hand dismissively.

"Well, I looked up your opponents and sent people to some of your games. Apparently, you're all still beginners... and it shows. You've lost 3 games, tied once, and won... how many times was it?" She pretended to think. "Oh yes: _twice_." This time, Eva scowled. "We're going to crush you and you know it. Of course, the rest of your team doesn't. Maybe we should show them? How about a 15 minute game? There's a pitch over there." She pointed north.

"We accept," Yuki told the girl.

I stood nervously in center midfield. I didn't like the look on Eva's face. It was different from the one she usually wore. This one was extremely serious, like she knew that they were far beyond our level. _But if that's true, why did she leave that team?_

One of Hitana's substitute players blew the whistle and my mind snapped to the game. Yuki passed it to Miyuki who passed it back to me. Their players sprinted forward. I dribbled around the first one but was stopped by 2 more. They quickly blocked my progress. I could see other players between me and Yuki and Miyuki. They were too close for me to make a long pass and I couldn't control the ball well enough to feint around them. I'd have to wait for them to move first.

Unfortunately, their attack was well-coordinated and perfected and they took the ball easily. I growled, trying to take it back but they easily evaded me. It traveled down the field and easily passed the defense for a shot on goal. Of course, Eva was running on adrenaline and caught it.

She booted it to me and I found myself guarded yet again. _Why am I being marked so thoroughly? Yuki's our best player. Then again, If I can't get it to Yuki they'll have nothing to worry about. _They dribbled circles around me yet again, this time with a less-than-friendly shove. I scowled and jumped up determined to make up for my mistake. It made it back to Eva. But... when she went to stop the ball, she crashed head-first into the goal-post. I winced. _That must've hurt._

She got up though and booted the ball. I frowned. Usually it went strait to me but this time it went a good 20 meters to my right. I sprinted over. Another player from the other team was there waiting to receive the pass so I waited for her to trap it and stole the ball while she was focusing on controlling it. I quickly passed it to Miyuki before I could get marked.

But they had anticipated that and intercepted it. _Eva's hurt. There's no way she can stop it now. I'll have to steal it before they can get it down field. _I blocked their path and went one-on-one with one of the players. My fellow half-backs helped block their passing lanes. I didn't even bother to try and gain control of the ball and simply booted it up the field, praying it would reach Kojima (I called her that on the field so that I didn't confuse _Mi_yuki) or Miyuki. It never did, and they eventually passed me and scored easily on the injured Eva.

Then they began playing rough. The shoving was harder, elbows flew at my face, and slide-tackles came frequently. One particularly hard shove came while I was in the air, trying to head the ball, and it resulted in my landing wrong. My ankle bent unnaturally. _I can't let it get to Eva!_ I ignored the pain and jumped to my feet but I wasn't fast enough and they scored again. And then once more. Finally, Eva got her hands on the ball and punted it hard. I volleyed it, not letting the other team get near it, but my left ankle protested and gave out on the landing. "KOJIMA!"

Yuki received it and immediately headed for the goal. Defenders were on her in an instant. With time running out she shot as hard as she could but the defenders had succeeded in narrowing the shooting lane down so much that a second grader could have stopped it. And their goalie did. The whistle blew a moment later, causing their entire team to smirk triumphantly. Without another word, they left. The 3 forwards gave me an unfriendly bump on the way past, making my ankle throb as I tried to recover.

I looked silently around at the team. They were panting and discouraged. My attention, however, was more focused on Eva. She was leaning unsteadily against the goalpost. Pain ignored, I ran over to her and demanded to know how bad her injury was.

The walk back to school was a long one and Eva leaned on me and Yuki to prevent herself from loosing her balance. When we arrived, Obaasan took Eva to the hospital. She had a concussion. As for me, I was looking for Coach Matsushita. _I let them down. Because of my weakness, they were able to score. I have to get better before Saturday. If we don't win, it will all be over. Most of the girls probably won't come back next season and we'll have let all of our classmates get away with calling us weak._


	11. My Everything

Hello again. Still pretty motivated. Enjoy!

* * *

**_Chapter 11:_** **_My Everything_**

Tatsuya Mizuno grunted at the knock on his dorm door. With a sigh he stood up from his incredibly comfortable spot on the bed and answered it irritably. He obviously hadn't gotten much sleep last night what with Shige sleep-walking into his door and the captain of the wrestling team making trouble for the girls.

Speaking of which...

I looked up at him with a slightly raised eyebrow. _Does he seem a bit tense?_ But at any rate, "Do you know where Matsushita-sensei is?"

"Not here," he grumbled. "He left about an hour ago and said he'd be back after lunch." I cursed mentally and turned to head down the hallway. "He'd better bring something edible back with him too..." I watched him start to shut the door and an idea struck me.

"Mizuno-san."

He cursed as his fingers were crushed between the door and the frame. Slamming the door and trying to stop it at the same time apparently doesn't work well. "What?"

"Will you train with me?" I looked up at him as pleadingly as I would allow myself to.

"Why do you want to train with me?" He seemed more curious than irritated and his voice softened ever so slightly.

"Because Matsushita-sensei is gone."

"What about your own teammates?" I shifted uncomfortably. Yuki surely wouldn't allow me to work myself too hard. She most likely knew I had injured my ankle. But maybe if Mizuno helped me or the coach I would get the workout I needed. He sighed. "Give me a minute. Go get Shige, I've been meaning to his lazy but off of the couch anyways." He shut the door again and for the longest time I just stared at it before finally giving a mental cheer.

_Yes! He agreed to train with me. He's supposed to be the best person on the boy's team and he even plays my position. I'll get to hear some advice from someone with experience. Now I just have to find Shige..._

_

* * *

_

"No, you should do it like this..." Mizuno showed me the move again. He seemed to skate over the field, controlling the ball like it was a part of him. I took careful notice of his foot work. I thought I caught a glimpse of my mistake but he moved too quickly for me to see exactly what it was supposed to be like.

"Can you show me it again," he sighed, "...one more time?"

"All right, but watch closely." He sprinted towards the center of the field again, feinted left and moved the ball to the right with the outside of his foot. Then he paused in front of the cone, spun, and drug the ball around it, keeping his body between the ball and the cone.

I tried it again, but gave a minor stutter-step and ended up tripping over the ball. Shige snickered slightly on the sidelines and I gave a deep blush. Without a word I picked myself up and tried again. This time I got it right but it was awkward and slow.

"Much better." He must not have expected me to try again because he exchanged looks with Shige and watched me. I did the move about 5 more times before I was satisfied that I could practice it correctly on my own. I trotted over with the ball to where he was standing, breathing heavily. "What do you want to try next?" I shrugged. I honestly didn't know what other moves there were to teach. I should have gone to one of the boys' games. Then I would know. "Okay, how many defenders will you be facing on average?"

I thought back to this morning's match. "Between 2 and 4."

He coughed slightly and Shige gave him a pat on the back that may have been a bit harder than necessary. "2 to 4? Even for the center midfielder, that's a bit excessive. Exactly which team are you playing next Saturday?"

"Hitana Middle. And what do you mean 'even for the center midfielder'?"

Shige smiled, leaning on the glaring Tatsuya's shoulder. "You really don't know much about Japanese soccer, do you?" I shook my head. "In Japan, the center midfielder usually controls the attack. If they stop you, they stop the attack. Of course, that usually leaves the forwards open and they have to watch out for the other midfielders to move forward..."

"Which is why they put someone in the passing lane and keep at least 2 defenders back. Okay, anything else?"

"Not that it will help you all that much, but number 10 is most likely their best player." Shige grinned. "Show her how to kick the ball with her heel now Tatsu-bon."

* * *

"Let's... take a break... now," Mizuno panted. 

"One... more... time." He gave me an exasperated look but finally gave in. We squared off and I ran towards him. He was obviously holding back because I wasn't as good as he was, but he always made sure to stay one step better. I feinted right and moved left, then quickly darted right again, kicking the ball up in the air a few inches to make sure he wasn't able to get his foot on it. But as I was moving around him, my ankle gave out. I tried to recover but by the time I did, he had gained possession of the ball and was proceeding to try and get around me.

He ran to the right and then cut left and I followed him but when he cut right again my leg wouldn't brace. My knee just kept bending and I grunted as momentum carried me into a roll. Mizuno abandon the ball and ran over to squat beside me. "You okay? It's definitely break time now."

"I'm fine," I assured him, trying to stand up. "Shige-san, will you go another few rounds with me?" I had my feet tucked under me and had to use my arms to push me halfway up. I thought I had it but before I made it to a standing position, my left knee gave out yet again. Mizuno, thankfully, stopped me from going into a face plant.

"How do you plan on 'going another few rounds' when you can't even stand? Besides, I don't take it easy on you like Tatsu-bon here does." They helped me to the sidelines and we all sat there with our dwindling water bottles. It was weird, you know. I felt like a piece of lead and it hurt everywhere but I felt... satisfied. I had never worked my body to its limits before. I had always given up halfway through but now that I felt like I had to support the team, things were different. Now, It didn't matter how hard I had to work. The team was my everything here.

"Casey-chan!" I pushed myself up to see Miyuki coming towards me with a plate. "I brought you some dinner!"

"FOOD!" Shige was there in an instant but Miyuki pulled it out of his reach before he could grab a rice ball. I smiled. Miyuki was always shy, even more-so around boys, but she seemed comfortable with Shige. She wasn't nervous and never blushed or stuttered when she talked to him.

As if reading my mind Mizuno mumbled something under his breath that was just audible. "They'd make a cute couple..." I tried to smother a laugh while continuing to watch aforementioned pair.

"No, Shige-kun! These are for Casey."

"Aw, come on. Just one... _please_?" He begged. Then he tried giving her his saddest face. You'd think he was starving.

Miyuki glared at him but realized that he wouldn't let her by (at least not peacefully) unless she gave in, so with a sigh she handed him one. "All right already. But only one!" He gave her a hug and proceeded to munch happily on it. She shook her head and joined me and Mizuno on the sidelines. I accepted one to be polite (I'm never hungry after I exercise) and noticed with a frown that my hands were shaking violently.

"So what exactly happened that got you guys all riled up?" Mizuno asked, taking a rice ball from Miyuki and smirking as Shige face-faulted.

Miyuki looked down at the plate so she wouldn't have to meet anyone's eye and I lay back down on my back, chewing slowly to get my sentences mapped out. Surprisingly, Miyuki spoke first. "During our jog this morning we met the players from Hitana Middle School and they challenged us to a short match. It only lasted 15 minutes... we weren't able to score once-- our forwards hardly ever got the ball. They scored 3 times in the last 10 minutes and Eva-san got a concussion..."

She gripped the paper plate harder, causing it to twist and bend in her hand and she looked on the verge of tears. The guys didn't seem to see what was so bad about it so I elaborated. "They crushed us. We were giving it our all and they didn't even look like they were trying. That's why I have to train. I let the team down in that match, I'm not going to do that again." I pushed myself up, mentally arguing about taking a break but the team took top priority and I jogged over to collect the ball still on the other side of the field. Unfortunately, I was spotted.

"_Stonebrook Casey! _**What** do you think you're doing?" I grimaced as Yuki stormed into the center of the pitch to poke me in the chest a few times and emphasize her point. "You injured you ankle in that match! Why are you still practicing? You'll just injure yourself more!" I caught a glimpse of Shige and Mizuno exchanging glances and grimaced again. Even Miyuki had widened her eyes. _This is gonna be a long day._

I held my hands up defensively. "I _have_ to practice, Yuki-chan."

"Don't _Yuki-chan_ me! You know better! You should know that practicing will just make your injury worse!"

"I'd rather play injured than play the way I did this morning!" Yuki pulled back her hand, startled at my reply. "It was because of me that we couldn't score, and I let them get by so they could score!" My vision blurred. _Tears? _"I gave it everything I had and it still wasn't good enough! I let the team down..." I turned away from her to look down the field, seeing the pitch I'd played on this morning instead.

Eva was in the goal, clearly in pain. The defense was panting hard and their spirits had been crushed. The midfielders were particularly exhausted, looking to me for guidance. The forwards sprinted, stopped, and changed direction trying to get open. And me? I was surrounded by the grinning faces of my opponents and completely useless. I wasn't good enough to get around them. I couldn't get it to Kojima or Miyuki. I couldn't do anything.

"That's not true," Yuki whispered. "You didn't let the team down, I did."

"You only got the ball once! You didn't screw up a hundred times and let them steal the ball! You were at their level! I wasn't, and the only person I can blame is me. I didn't work hard enough. I didn't practice hard enough. _I wasn't good enough!"_

"Okay kiddies. It's time to go back into the dorms." Shige slung his arm around Yuki and Miyuki's shoulders and directed them back to said building.

I quickly swiped at my tears and made to follow them. Mizuno walked beside me, talking quietly. "You should have told me you injured your ankle. We would have taken it easy on it."

"Exactly." He paused for a moment and watched my back. "Coming?" He grunted and jogged to catch up.

* * *

End it now... or don't end it now. I guess it's the end of this chapter and if the pairings aren't completely obvious now you may want to stop reading. 


	12. Santa Gets a Girl

Hello again faithful readers. Welcome to my first ever side-story. It's Santa-centric and dedicated to Ominae for his reviewing. He's been asking for more Santa and since I haven't really found a way to work him into the story I'm simply going to give him his own chapter. Enjoy! Sorry if it's a bit short.

* * *

**_Chapter 12: Santa Gets a Girl_**

**_Santa's POV_**

I, the great Yamaguchi Santa, was waiting in line for my turn to participate in the new drill Captain Mizuno had showed us. I'd done it once before (perfectly of course) but that idiot Kazamatsuri Sho stepped in to tell me I'd done it wrong. Then he demonstrated it, exactly how I'd done it! Honestly, that guy... I can't see how Miyuki-chan could like him. I'm much better. But we'd had that established, didn't we?

So anyways, I was waiting in line when Sato suddenly budged in front of me to talk to Kazamatsuri. I _would've_ told him off and pushed him to the back of the line but it's better to make friends with other powerful people. Smart, I know. The loud-mouthed blonde took his turn and I had just gotten the ball when the captain blew the whistle. They're all against me aren't they? I mean, they won't give me a chance to shine and when they do they just cover it up. Why can't they just admit that I'm better than Kazamatsuri? It's completely obvious. Maybe it's a plot to try and get me to get fed up and quit so Kazamatsuri can take Miyuki-chan. Well I'll show them that they can't get rid of Yamaguchi Santa so easily.

The coach taped a piece of paper to the wall of the team room that showed who would be playing in the match Saturday. As usual, I was not on the list of regulars where I belonged. So even the coach is against me, eh? It figures. Practice ended soon after and I was headed back to the dorms when I saw her. She seemed to be looking for someone. Long black hair fell down her back and 2 soft brown eyes peered out from a perfectly sculpted face.

"Kaoru-nii-san!" (A/N I hope I used that right) Gomi ran over to her and gave her a brief hug before taking a package from her and running off to his room. She's Gomi's sister? Then, as if sensing my staring at her, she turned and our eyes met. I watched as she blushed and hurried around the corner, waving back at me as she disappeared from view. I'd never seen anyone so beautiful, not even Miyuki-chan.

**"GOMI-KUN!"**

* * *

Akari was her name. I lay on my bed a bit later and pictured her in my mind again. _So beautiful..._ I was briefly aware of Noro leaving but didn't pay him much mind.

* * *

**_Noro and Shige:_**

"I don't understand it Shigeki-sempai. He just lays there and sighs. He's never been so quiet!" Noro hissed, looking uneasily at his door.

Shige grabbed his shoulders. "Good. Don't question it. Just enjoy the peace."

* * *

**_Back with Santa:_**

_Maybe I should send her flowers-- no chocolate. I don't know, I can't decide. I'll ask Gomi which one she'd like better at supper. Speaking of supper..._ My stomach growled loudly. I went down the stairs and into the kitchen. Gomi sat there, alone, eating a sandwich. What luck!

"Gomi-kun. About your sister... Would she like flowers or chocolates better?"(Gomi's thoughts: You're going to send flowers to my _sister_?) "You know what? You're right. I should send both!" With that I left a very confused Gomi sitting on the counter and headed for the nearest store.

An hour later I was walking down her street stealing glimpses of the address I had written on my arm. _Her_ address. I sighed again, adjusted the chocolates under my arm, and wiping my clammy hand on my pants. I finally found her house and rang the doorbell, smelling the bouquet of chrysanthemums I had just bought. Her mother answered the door. "Can I help you young man?"

"Is Akari-chan home?"

The woman smiled at me gently. "Come on in. I'll get her." I followed her into a very tidy house and stood in the entrance hall waiting. Akari came into view a few minutes later. The moment she saw me she turned a deep red.

"Hi Akari-chan. I'm Yamaguchi Santa and I brought you these." My voice seemed quieter than usual, like it wouldn't come out of my throat and I held out the gives awkwardly.

She rushed forward and took the carefully. "T-thank you," she stammered. "B-but..."

"You already have a boyfriend don't you?" My heart sank. I should've expected that. How could someone so pretty _not_ be taken?

"N-n-no. It's just I'm-- a-achoo..." She sneezed cutely, and blushed even harder. "I'm allergic to chrysanthemums."

"Ack! I'm _so_ sorry! Here." I quickly took them from her and set them out on the porch. I sighed. That was close. She giggled behind me, making me blush again. "I sorry, I didn't know. I just thought that you might like--." She interrupted me with a quick peck on the cheek.

"It's okay Santa-kun. It was very thoughtful of you. Thank you for the chocolates." She went back into the house, turning to smile at me one last time before shutting the door behind her. I sat back and put a hand to my cheek. _She kissed me!_ Now with a big smile on my face I walked back to the dorms, shoving the chrysanthemums into Gomi's hands on my way by him.

"Santa? What's-- ACHOO!" I shut the door to my room as he sneezed violently. **"SANTA I'M ALLERGIC TO CHRYSANTHEMUMS!"**


	13. Whatever It Takes

Hey there everybody. I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I'm trying to get ready for the soccer season. Today it's all icy outside so I decided to type a bit here. Anyhoo… I just realized that my last chapter was extremely rushed. Hopefully this one will be better.

PS: I know I skipped a week but you'll just have to deal with it. I couldn't think of any good ideas to shove in here and I really want to write this chapter so here goes.

* * *

**_Chapter 13: Whatever It Takes_**

"Ready girls?" The team turned to Kojima standing at the front of the bus and gave her a solemn nod. A serious vibe echoed all around them and had nearly silenced their ride. There were no pep talks, no cheering, just quiet. Everyone was getting 'in the zone.'

Once there we quickly found our locker rooms, noting that it may rain soon. We changed in relative silence and followed Kojima out onto the field. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite the field we had expected. Apparently, after failing to screw up our equipment, the rest of the school was seeking a new revenge. Spray-painted on the field in white was:** Girls can't play soccer. **

"I think someone has a death wish," Eva mumbled unconcerned. We'd seen enough of this to be relatively used to it. Besides, we had bigger problems.

"Yeah," Keiko chimed in. "Now they're going to have us, Hitana, and every other team in the tournament crashing down on them." We jogged the field a few times for warm up and stretched before grabbing a ball and getting into the rhythm. Hitana looked absolutely _pissed_ when they walked in.

The rest of pre-game passed in a blur and before I knew it we were taking our positions on the pitch. We didn't have many spectators but that didn't matter right now. All that mattered was the game.

* * *

"C'mon, _please_? I want to see it," the black-haired boy begged his friend.

"They already told you what it looked like. Besides, it's raining," his blonde friend argued.

"That's not the same!"

With a sigh the second boy gave in. "Fine, but only for a moment. I have better things to do than watch girls try to play soccer on Hikaru's horrible penmanship." The 2 boys peered through the chain link fence unsuccessfully. The rain was coming down too hard. Silently, they and their umbrella went to join the few on the sidelines. "There, you see? Now let's--." He jumped when he realized who was standing next to him. "Aren't you supposed to be... you know, refereeing or something?"

The tall man in the black and white striped uniform glanced down at him momentarily. "I tried that. They've had at least a dozen fouls now but when I blow the whistle they just ignore me." The blonde and the black-haired boy turned their attention to the game in time to see an illegal slide-tackle from Hitana. The girl they recognized as the always gentle, fragile-looking Miyuki roll out of it and dive for the ball, passing it to Kojima.

"Of course they ignored you." All 3 males jumped violently at the cracking voice nearby. "This is a grudge match. They won't hear anything but the game whistle."

"What if the ball goes out?" the dark-haired boy asked.

Obassan smiled. "It won't. Not until they're done with it."

* * *

I slid hard to a stop. The mud was getting worse. It was almost impossible to not fall. Nobody had scored yet. I think the ref had given up and was standing on the sidelines under an umbrella. I was breathing hard and squinting through the rain, wiping it off my face when necessary. Everyone was dirty and tired, fighting with everything they had for the point. The only point. We knew only one team would score and it had to be us. It had to.

I dribbled around 2 of Hitana's half-backs and passed to Miyuki (right forward by the way). She was slide-tackled from behind but managed to get it to Kojima (left forward). Kojima fought but in a 4 on one match you are pretty much doomed. I should know. The defender attempted to make a long pass to one of the forwards but our left wing Akiko got there first and headed it to me. This time I dribbled up further, as far as possible without losing all opportunities to pass. My pass was intercepted and cleared. It made it all the way to Eva who-- even in the rain with a concussion-- was able to catch it. She punted it to our right wing Cho who got caught against the sidelines.

She tried passing it back to Gina (our right defender) but it too was stolen. Gina stole it again and passed it up to Etsuko (our right-center). She was stopped by a forward and passed it across to Kimiko (left-center). And so it went on. We chased the ball back and forth across the pitch from one base line to the other but nobody could manage to score. Then I heard Eva shouting something.

"We only have 2 minutes left! **_Go!" _**Rin (left defender) booted it hard up to me. _No time to stop. If I trap it, they'll be on me in an instant. I'll just have to give it to Miyuki before that happens. _I grunted, sliding to get under the ball before it hit the ground and volleyed it. It earned me a slide tackle to the stomach but at least Miyuki received it.

Miyuki probably hadn't heard Eva but knew that this was our last chance. We could all sense the end of the game drawing near. Unfortunately, even Hitana did. They were defending this point with everything they had left (which wasn't much do to the fact that we had played through half-time). The red-head dribbled around 3 people before giving Kojima a perfect pass. Yuki gave a hard header but it was knocked away by their goal keeper Yume.

_I have to get there. I **have** to get there! _I thought. So close... YES! I slid and kicked it up before Yume could grab it and Miyuki burst in with the most amazing volley I'd ever seen. A whistle from the sidelines. _We scored!_

We had no time to cheer though. One of Hitana's defenders grabbed the ball from the net and ran it to the half line. Stalling was not an option, not after this kind of game. We'd worked too hard to just leave it to lost time.

"Protect the goal ladies!" Kojima shouted at the top of her lungs.

With nothing to lose, Hitana went for it. They sent everyone, even Yume up to attack. They simply crowded our half of the field. The first shot was stopped by Keiko, the second by Rin, the third by Kimiko, and then they gave one more shot. It flew past the defenders easily and right towards the upper right-hand side of the goal. _No! They're going to score! _But then, Eva appeared out of nowhere and punched it away.

**_TWEET... TWEET... TWEEEEEEEEEEEET_**

**_

* * *

_**

The guys' team entered the dorms excitedly, chattering happily about their victory until Obassan shushed them.

_"What?"_ Shige hissed loudly. She smiled gently and slid the door open. The boys peered into the lobby curiously and then held back laughs. Inside, the girls were scattered across the floor, on the stairs, and in the hallways still in their muddy uniforms.

"I take it, it went well?" Mizuno whispered, noting the smiles on their faces. "S-Shige! What are you doing?"

The blonde had scooped up Miyuki who had been the nearest. She remained asleep. He responded in his normal loud voice. "You know as well as I do that they aren't going to wake up. Besides, were you just going to leave them here?" Mizuno sighed defeatedly and reached down to scoop up Casey bridal style. "So... I don't suppose you know which room is theirs?" Mizuno sweat-dropped.


	14. Short Lived Breaks

Okay, I'm back! I got lucky again Friday. School was cancelled due to the totally crappy weather we've been having here. Thursday I updated my other story called 'All's Fair in Love and War,' which I haven't updated in a long time. So anyhoo… on with the chapter! Enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 14: Short Lived Breaks**_

I woke a few hours after our game against Hitana and found myself very sore. Strangely enough, I was in my room, though I could have sworn that I fell asleep on the bus—or maybe it was the floor in the lobby. I couldn't remember. Seeing that I was still in my muddy uniform I left Miyuki asleep on the other bed and took a quick shower. I slipped into some sweats and walked sleepily downstairs.

Most of the guys' team was in the lobby or kitchen. Eva was the only other person from our team awake as of yet and she sat down on the couch next to an irritated-looking Fuwa with her feet propped up on the small coffee table.

"Hey Eva-chan," I yawned. She nodded to me as I sat down in a large, comfortable armchair.

"She lives!" Shige appeared behind me and grinned.

"Yeah, yeah. Shut up, I'm trying to sleep." I let my head fall onto the arm of the chair and blew a piece of hair away from my face, making him laugh.

Mizuno, Kazamatsuri, Masato, and Noro all filed out of the kitchen and claimed several of the seats. "Sooo…" Masato started. "Tell us how the game went!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Eva-chan didn't tell you?" They shook their heads and we all looked at said goalkeeper. She glared at me. "Right, well it started, then it started raining, we scored a point, and it ended. That's about it."

Shige swiped me upside the head. "Seriously. I want a real answer. You didn't include halftime!"

Several of the boys sweat-dropped and Eva and I smirked at this. "Halftime? What halftime?" This was met by several confused glances. "We kind of skipped that."

"You… skipped halftime?" Mizuno asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We ignored the ref all together after the starting whistle," Eva told them proudly. I must admit, I was proud of that myself. We were able to play an all-out game without distractions and the controversial calls the refs were often said to make. We won that goal ourselves—no excuses.

"So what did the ref do?" (Kaza)

I looked at Eva. "He was standing on the sidelines, wasn't he?"

"Safe and dry under an umbrella." They were still looking at us strangely and Eva scowled.

"Hey, Fuwa. You're like a genius, right? Are you following this?" Masato asked.

Fuwa grunted. "If there's one thing I'll never understand, it's the opposite sex."

Eva growled. "I assure you, the feeling's mutual. But seriously, haven't you ever played in a game that you didn't want to stop for breaks or anything?"

Nobody seemed to want to answer that. Nobody except Kazamatsuri. "Well, there was that game against Musashinomori…."

_Musashinomori… Musashinomori… Musashinomori…. Why does that name sound familiar? _"Just a second." I lifted myself off of the couch and worked my way up the stairs. It seemed to take more energy than I remember. I think Eva was glaring at my back, probably something to do with leaving her there alone amidst the pestering questions from the boys. I sweat-dropped. When I finally reached my room Miyuki was still sleeping soundly. I snuck in and silently shut the door behind me before removing a sheet of paper from the wall above my bed/cot. I scanned it over quickly and gave a small triumphant smile. _I thought so._ I then snuck back down the stairs. "Here we go." Everyone turned their attention to me. "I thought I recognized Musashinomori. They played right before our game this morning and beat Rakuyo."

Shige began to read over my shoulder. "You have 2 other games marked down too. Iwa Tech beat Kaga, Kokubu beat Sariyashiki, and Hiba beat Yukimori. It looks like you play Hiba next and either Iwa Tech or Kokubu in the third round…. Dang, you don't get a break do you?"

Mizuno added on to Shige's statement. "All of the weak teams will have been eliminated in the third round. That means you guys will have to jump right into things. This is assuming that the girls' teams are anything like the guys' teams. You guys are going to be in for a rough time here."

* * *

"Okay girls!" Yuki called to get everyone's attention. "We're going to split up into offense and defense for this next drill. Offense will try to score while defense will attempt to clear the ball across the half line. Wings and center midfield will be offense, the other 2 will be defense. Hiba's boy's team likes to play with a strong defense, so we can only assume the girl's team will use the same strategy. Therefore, we need to strengthen our offense. Let's go!"

"Hai, Captain!" The girls did as told, defense taking red pennies and the offense taking white. I started out with the ball. Miyuki and Kojima immediately took off into the center of our defensive line, far enough forward to challenge the goal but back far enough to receive a pass.

Kimiko and Etsuko pressured me from a safe distance, careful to block the passing lanes to the wings. A few feints later I passed Etsuko and gave the ball to Akiko. She then fought with Gina for possession, letting Keiko mark Kojima. The left wing was pressured toward the sidelines and it took a lot of running and cutting to get free of Etsuko's renewed mark. She passed me the ball but Keiko was there in an instant, blocking my path. I did a wall-pass as Akiko cut inside. She tried a shot, unable to find an open forward but Eva caught it.

"Try it again!" Kojima shouted. "Akiko, don't hold the ball so long; Etsuko, don't go after an obvious feint; and Casey, keep your eyes open! You could have passed it to Miyuki when she got free of her mark earlier."

"Hai, Captain!" we echoed.

* * *

When Monday homeroom came around I was surprised to find myself approached by 2 boys—suddenly, uncomfortably aware of the fact that I was the only person on my team in this homeroom. The dark-haired one, a hyperactive boy named Arata, slammed his hands down on the desk in front of me causing me to jump. "You guys were _**awesome**_ Saturday! I didn't know you could play like that!"

I raised an eyebrow slightly. So someone had seen our game. Wonderful. We probably weren't going to get to play like that again. Apart from the exhaustion, we would probably get reprimanded by the tournament committee if we kept ignoring their referees. But still, this could advertise the team. Maybe we could get more players. "You never asked. Nobody ever did. They simply assumed that because we started out as beginners we hadn't improved."

His eyes widened. "That is so true! Hey, Ryota." He turned to the boy on his left, a blonde that stood next to him—or maybe my desk—somewhat grudgingly. "Do you think you could get them in the school paper?"

He scowled. "I doubt it. If people see the girl's soccer team in there they won't read it at all." Now _I_ was scowling. He had seen us and still refused to believe that we were a decent team. _The way this is going, we're going to have to win the tournament to get any recognition whatsoever. Pft. School sucks. _

* * *

I told Kojima about that little encounter and she agreed with me. In order to gain respect, we would have to advance though the tournament. In order to wake up the school, we'd have to keep winning. As a result, practice became harder. We put in another hour after school and denied weekend leave. The girls sensed our determination and likewise tried harder.

Katori-sensei, however, did not appreciate the arrangement as much. An hour more of practice meant an hour less of homework. Nobody's grades were slipping but she knew that we couldn't keep it up. She knew that this hectic practice schedule would wear us down—especially since she caught both Keiko and Akiko falling asleep in class. She'd also heard several other teachers complaining of the same thing. Something had to be done!

"Hey girls!" We all stopped as Katori-sensei waved excitedly at us from the sidelines during practice. "Come here! We've got a surprise for you!" Everyone exchanged looks. _We? _Kojima shrugged and gave the soccer ball a gentle kick into the rack, following the English teacher into the dorms. The first thing I noticed was the large tables in the center of the lobby and the second was the delicious smell wafting from the kitchen. I snuck a quick glance at the clock. _5:30. Isn't it a bit early for supper?_ None-the-less, the boys all filed out with trays piled with food. I couldn't help but snort. Something about the guys having cooked or helped with a meal in any way seemed amusing.

"What's this?" Kojima asked, trying to take the tray Mizuno was holding.

He pulled it out of his reach. "We're forcing you to take a break. You have 2 days until your next game. At this rate, you're all going to burn yourselves out. So sit, eat," he ordered. Grinning, I pulled up a chair first. My team was looking at me strangely.

"What? Don't you want to see what the guys cooked? Don't be rude. Let them serve us." Several other grins accompanied mine and they were all quickly seated. I think I saw most of the guys cringe at my statement. Hey, if they were going to insist on destroying their pride I wasn't going to stand in their way. Dinner consisted of bread rolls, white and fried rice, chicken, milk or water, and (insert good Japanese dessert here).

"So…" Yuki started, eyes scanning the table. "Who did the cooking?" We all knew by now about Katori-sensei's cooking and this wasn't it. It was delicious. All eyes looked down to Fuwa and Kazamatsuri at the other end of the table. Fuwa currently had half a piece of chicken in his mouth and, upon finding himself the center of unwanted attention, promptly glared at everyone. Kaza blushed slightly and quickly stuffed a bit of rice in his mouth. We laughed at this but they received several compliments. I must say, they could cook for me anytime.


	15. Josui's Crutch

I'm back! Okay, here's the next chapter. I hope it's not too depressing...

_**

* * *

Chapter 15: Josui's Crutch **_

Sakura Josui's girl's soccer team walked nervously off the bus. It was time for the match against Hiba Middle. We had managed to get our hands on a tape of their game against Yukimori. We had spent the whole week practicing on building up our offense and they threw us a curve ball. It didn't take long for us to realize that they weren't like the boy's team. They had an average defense and an incredibly powerful offense. Luckily, our defense had also been built up during practices, though it hardly seemed like enough to keep Hiba at bay.

We changed silently in the locker room, drawn into our zones. I saw Eva and Kojima juggling a bit to get focused, Miyuki was following Mizuno's advice and listening to music, and Keiko was leading the defense in a pre-game song that echoed softly through the room, bouncing off the cement walls. They were often random tunes that would pop into somebody's head. When it was over we'd wait around awkwardly until somebody came up with another song.

After exiting the locker rooms we found our way to the field and ran a couple of laps before starting to stretch. For about 10 minutes we performed a drill similar to the one we'd done in practice (though considerably less stressful) and took a few shots on goal.

I must say, I liked this field much better than the one we had played on last week. It sported trees and bushes with only low chain link fences and gave off a very calm, peaceful feel; unlike the plain, tension-filled atmosphere that the pitches usually projected.

Soon enough, the referee blew the starting whistle. I watched Hiba's entire offensive line burst forward. _So that's their plan, huh? They're hoping to catch us off-guard by charging into a full-out attack at the beginning of the game. If they score so quickly, it'll destroy our confidence and we'll be defeated before the game ever really starts. _

Determined not to let that happen, I too charged the ball. It probably hadn't been the wisest choice but I connected with it at the same time the tall, raven-haired girl did, causing it to fly a good 10 meters into the air. By then, Josui had regained their composure.

It was a hard fight for the header and, seeing the difference in our heights, I lost it. She threw her torso forward, knocking into me, resulting in a sort of 2-man dog pile. Guess who was on the bottom. I grunted as I hit the ground with more force than I had originally intended. The girl rolled off of me and sprinted down the field. _I don't get it. Why are they going so hard so early? If they keep this up, they won't make it to the end of the game. _Rin managed to kick the ball away from Hiba and out of bounds. This drew my eyes towards Hiba's bench. _They have quite a few substitutes. They're going to run us ragged in the first half and put in fresh players for the second half. _I scowled. _If that's what they're doing, then how are we going to stop it? _Just then, one of Hiba's midfielders darted into an open spot in the box, in the perfect position for the shot. …But they didn't pass it to her. _That's it! They won't sub in a bunch of weak players in the second half and give us a chance to catch up, so they mixed in weaker players in the first half as distractions to the defense and goalie. We just have to find out which players they are….

* * *

_

Apparently, I had been right. A lot of the other girls had suspected it as well and because of this we were able to prevent them from scoring but Hiba controlled the ball most of the half anyways. We only got the ball to Kojima and Miyuki twice and their average defense was able to stop us.

"How are we going to stop them—let alone score?" Eva demanded. "You guys were all slowing down already in the last 5 minutes."

Another thought struck me. "They wanted us to get tired out the first half right? They probably expected to score as well, which means they wouldn't need to put in many considerably strong players in the second half. They'll probably have a few to keep everything in line but it will mostly be just the second-string players. If we keep going hard, we can score. Besides, Kojima and Miyuki didn't get the ball very much in the first half so they shouldn't be too worn out."

Several people nodded. Then Kojima spoke up. "If they aren't going to be powerful players then we'll leave our defensive line and 2 midfielders back to defend and the rest of us will come up. Just like the drill we practiced, okay?"

"Hai!" we shouted. Suddenly, there was a tugging on my jersey. I turned to find Keiko behind me. She gestured to one side of the room where Gina, Rin, and Eva already sat.

"Casey…." Gina sighed and got a look on her face that said she was trying to find the right words. "You need to trust us more."

I blinked. "Huh?"

Eva gave a sigh of exasperation and stepped forward, folding her arms across her chest. "She means that you've been working your butt off to prevent the ball from getting back down the field. As a result, your offensive attacks are weaker. We're the _defense_. Let us do our job and defend. You stick to doing your job and helping out Kojima and Sakurai." With that said she filed out of the room after the rest of the team. The other girls looked as if they wanted to say something but they must have decided against it because they just stood and followed the goalkeeper.

I sat there a moment longer, reliving the game—reliving _every_ game we'd played. They were right. I _had_ always tried to prevent the ball from getting back. That was important, I knew, but I had taken it too far. I really hadn't trusted them to take care of the ball. I grunted and jumped to my feet. _I just have to trust them.

* * *

_

2—maybe 3—hours later, I found myself staring at a plain wooden door and watching the flashes of color, light, and sound that were my recent memories. Cheering and celebration of our victory. A huge grin on Kojima's face, for she had been the one to score, the one to save us. Then there was a loud pop. Up suddenly became down. The bus spun and rolled over. Miyuki crashed into me and I clung to her protectively. The shattering of glass. The sound of screaming. Flashes of blinding blue and red. Yuki on a stretcher. And then this door. It was the only thing to break the dull, undecorated white wall.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, a man in a white coat opened that door. I couldn't help but jump up and look hopefully. He seemed surprised to see me there but simply stripped off his latex gloves and discarded them in a nearby trash can.

"Your friend will be fine. She was knocked unconscious and is suffering a minor concussion. She also has a knee injury and will be required to wear a brace for the rest of the week. Oh, and no soccer for another 3 weeks."

_3 weeks! That's the rest of the district tournament and then a week! _"Can I see her?"

"I guess, but she's asleep right… now…." I hadn't even waited for an answer and simply walked right into her room. She was laying still in one of those raised cots, her raven hair scattered across the pillow. A few scratches covered her face and arms.

I sat down in a chair beside her bed and simply studied her face. She looked pretty peaceful. _3 weeks. I suppose all we really have to do is win our next game. Both of the teams in the finals will go to the regional tournament. But still… the girls won't look at it that way. As much as I hate to say it, Kojima was our crutch. She's the only reason we made it this far. She's the only really good player that we have. Besides, we don't have any substitutes and it's too late to sign anyone up—that is, assuming we could find anyone at all. _I sighed. _What are we gonna do?

* * *

_

_**In the hallway:**_

"I'm sorry, but there's already someone in there visiting her. Besides, she's asleep. You won't be able to talk to her anyways. You'll just have to wait for the other girl to come out," the nurse explained.

"It's probably Casey," Miyuki squeaked. She was still trembling. The nurse proceeded to try and herd the rest of the girl's team and some of the guy's team back out into the lobby. The hallway was getting crowded. Shige, however, managed to 'convince' her otherwise. "Casey was Kojima's best friend. We should let her stay in there."

"You heard what the doctor said. She hasn't been checked out yet. We need to get her out here." Eva told them.

This made Miyuki burst into tears as she thought of what may have happened to her other friend. Shige (who was standing in front of her) gave a nervous smile and patted her head uncertainly. "Umm… there, there."

There was a sigh. "I'll go get her." Everyone turned to see Mizuno walking towards the wooden door.

"Sir! You can't go in there. Only one visitor is allowed in at a time."

"I'm not going in to visit Kojima." The rest of the group watched curiously as Shige whispered something inaudible in Tatsuya's ear. Said brunette followed up with a sharp elbow to the ribs. The hyperactive blonde grinned triumphantly, though it was through a wince.

* * *

Mizuno entered the hospital room hesitantly, startling me out of my thoughts. Not that I minded much, they weren't happy thoughts. He gave me a quick once-over the same way the doctor had earlier. He didn't say anything as he grabbed a chair and sat in it backwards, chin resting on his arms which were folded over the top of the backrest. For a long moment he just watched me over Kojima's bed while I attempted to ignore him. It's kind of hard when you can feel him staring at you.

"You look like crap." I snapped my head up and glared violently at him. This was serious! Why was he joking? "Have you looked in a mirror lately?" _Oh… he wants me to go get a check up. But I'm not injured…. _Hearing my silence, he sighed in exasperation (There's a lot of sighing in this chapter isn't there?) and stood up again.

I watched him walk around the bed and heard him stop behind me. He put his hand lightly, once again, almost hesitantly, on my shoulder. "I don't need a check up," I told him. My voice wasn't nearly as loud or stern as I would've liked.

"No, you just don't want one. Watching her sleep isn't going to make her any better." He was right but I didn't want to leave. She seemed so vulnerable there. She looked so small. Naturally, I jumped horribly when her eyes flickered open. She gave a small groan and tried to stretch but the brace on her left leg made it very difficult. Then, as if just remembering what had happened, she sat up hastily. I jumped up and pushed her back into the mattress. I could tell just by looking at her that she was dizzy.

"Casey-chan?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

She blinked a few times before she seemed to be able to focus properly. Upon seeing me she promptly… glared? "What the hell are you doing here? Your fretting over me, aren't you?" It was a rhetorical question. "Look at you! You're a mess! Go! Get out of here. At least go get some band-aides or something!"

I couldn't help but sweat-drop as she sat up again (more slowly this time) and pointed towards the door. Mizuno gripped my elbow gently and steered me towards the door. Or maybe just away from Yuki.


	16. Kotosan

Okay, I'm back. I got a whole bunch of knew manga the other day and I just figured out that they actually have the start of the girl's team in it. I might try to work them in later. I don't know how... but I'll try. Anyhoo... on with the chapter.

* * *

_**Chapter 16: Koto-san**_

Entering the hallway, I found myself in the presence of the _entire_ girls' team and about half of the guys'. Several of my teammates were covered in bandages and looked as if they had just gotten through the shower. Miyuki spotted me first and squeaked in surprise and distress. Thinking she was going to cry, I immediately went to go comfort her. Unfortunately, it turned out that _I _was the reason she was upset.

Shige flashed a grin in my direction. "Heheh. You look like sh--." Miyuki slapped a hand over his mouth to subdue his language but it was quite clear what he had been about to say.

I couldn't help but scowl a little bit. "So I've been told."

Suddenly the nurse pushed her way through our crowd and steered me down the hall by my shoulders with a small sound of disapproval. She pushed me gently but firmly into a small room and instructed me to sit on the raised cot. "We're going to do a quick X-ray like we did with the others and then we'll get you cleaned up, okay?" It didn't sound like she was asking for my opinion and didn't stay long enough for me to give it so I fell silent and let my eyes wander around the room. There was a small table with a mountain of magazines and newspapers perched on top. A long counter covered in various medical instruments and painkillers took up one wall and above it was a mirror. A single chair sat near the cot.

Curiously, I shifted my weight over slightly to see myself in the mirror. I mean, honestly, it couldn't be that bad, right? I cringed upon seeing my reflection. It looked much worse than it actually felt. I was covered in several scratches, there was a rather deep cut above my left brow, a large bruise was darkening on my right cheekbone, and the left sleeve of my uniform was practically shredded. "Heheh…. So _that's _what all the fuss was about."

* * *

X-rays, band-aids, ecstatic parents, and—altogether—several hours later I was back at the dorms in bed. I didn't wake up until about 10:00 that morning but felt extremely well-rested.

"See what happens when you sleep in?" I told myself, yawning and stretching like a cat. I couldn't help but collapse back into the pillow for a moment before rolling off of the mattress. I didn't bother to change out of my comfortable PJs (soft blue pants and a t-shirt that was big enough to fit 2 people in) when I went downstairs and curled up into a ball on the couch. Eva was watching the game between Japan and Mexico.

"Hey there Sleeping Beauty," Shige teased.

"Morning, Shige-kun," I yawned in reply.

"How'd you sleep?" Sho questioned as he exited the kitchen with a granola bar.

I smiled at him as he sat down in the armchair nearby. "Very well, actually. I feel great." I stretched again for emphasis and grabbed a small pillow nearby to hug. Japan hung on to their 3-2 lead until the last 10 minutes of the game but Mexico tied it and won in overtime (much to our disappointment).

"Mexico came back to life after that Garcia (he's not real and neither is the game I'm describing) guy was subbed in and Japan fell apart in the overtime," Shige informed us. "Too bad. They were doing really well in the first half too."

"I don't know… They were lucky to score that 2nd time—it was the goalie's mistake." (Eva)

"Well they picked up that assist from Mexico's center mid." (Sho)

"Yeah, but they also gave the ball right back to them because of their lack of technique." (Fuwa who had been watching earlier and heard the rest on the radio) Soon we were wrapped up in a thorough discussion about the game. A little after that, though, Eva had to help Gina with a science question and Fuwa and Sho went out to the field to practice shots and how to stop them. I went upstairs to get dressed, leaving Mizuno and a strangely quiet Shige in the lobby.

When I came back downstairs the 2 of them were have a heated, whispered argument. Shige suddenly spotted me and grinned whispering one last thing to Mizuno before he retreated to the kitchen.

"What was that about?"

Mizuno seemed extremely tense when he answered. He scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously, a slight tinge of pink spreading across his cheeks. "Oh, nothing…."

Suddenly there was a loud, high-pitched scream from the kitchen followed by Miyuki's voice shouting, _"Get it Shige-kun!" _Several crashes and bangs came after this and it ended with a loud thump as Shige tripped on the threshold of the lobby in pursuit of a tiny grey mouse. I couldn't help but gasp and look after it with unmasked amusement and astonishment. I'd only ever seen a live mouse once before—and that had been nothing more than a glimpse. It scrambled across the floor and squeezed through the small gap between the front doors (which had just been opened). Another scream followed this, echoing from Katori-sensei's throat. The red-head jumped behind a second figure and fearfully traced the mammal's progress across the sidewalk until it disappeared in the tall grass that lined the path.

"It's just a mouse Katori-san," the stranger assured. She was tall with long, light brown hair secured by a rubber-band; playful blue eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses; a pair of white shorts; sandals; and a baby blue tank top with the L-league logo on it. She turned to us and flashed a bright smile. "Is this a bad time?"

"Girl's," Katori-sensei stood before the team packed on the few couches in the lobby with the stranger behind her. "This is Koto-san (totally stolen from Yu Yu Hakusho (which I _don't _own)) and she's going to be your knew head-coach." She waited nervously for our reactions, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt.

We all exchanged glances before Eva spoke up. "Cool."

Katori seemed to fade into the background as Koto stepped forward. She clapped her hands perkily. "Well how about you go around and introduce yourselves?" A long awkward pause followed, making her frown. "Come on now! I'm not that scary am I?"

I heard a heavy sigh to my right. "I'm Santino Eva, goalkeeper."

I spoke up next. "Stonebrook Casey, center midfielder."

"Sakurai Miyuki, right forward." Slowly but surely we worked our way around the room. This pleased Koto but after the last person had introduced herself the smile faded again.

"Where's the left forward?"

Eva didn't bother to wait for the awkward pause this time. "She was injured when our bus rolled over and won't play until the regional tournament."

A serious look crossed the coach's face. "I see." Suddenly, the perky attitude was back. "Well it's a little after noon, why don't we go get something to eat?" Several stomachs growled loudly in agreement. Koto laughed. "Sounds like a 'yes'."

* * *

Not quite as long as I would've liked, but it could have been worse! And yes, there is romance to come! I'm sorry.


	17. Guy Problems

I'm ba**aaaa**aaaack. Heheh. Did you miss me? No, probably not. Anyways, I am just getting back into this story and I've re-read it about 3 times now. (wince) I just realized how horribly written it is. I may repost some of the chapters. Especially since some of my descriptions were either off or very confusing. But that's a job for later. Right now, on with the chapter!

PS: I don't know how much longer this is going to be. I think I'm going to start wrapping it up.

* * *

_**Chapter 17:**_ **_Guy Problems_**

I jumped dramatically when a ruler came crashing down on my desk and snapped my attention towards a furious-looking Hakamada-sensei. (A/N I think he's the history teacher?) "Stonebrook! Are you watching the clock?" I tried to smile innocently.

"N-no, of course not."

"Don't lie to me! Just because you maintain decent grades does not mean that you can just space off when I'm in the middle of a lesson! You're lucky I don't—."

_**RRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!!!!!**_

_Saved by the bell._ "Class dismissed!" I sighed in relief. I'd been too excited about our new coach to focus on the lesson today so I wrote down the page numbers of the text book Hakamada-sensei had been reading from and told myself I'd study after practice. _Who needs his brownie points anyways? All he ever thinks about is assigning impossible amounts of homework and that stupid little baseball team that everyone thinks is so great. They aren't really that good. I don't see why—."_

"Umph!" I was going around a corner towards the front doors when I smacked into none other than Mizuno Tatsuya. _I really need to start paying attention to where I'm going. That's got to be the… second?... time I've run into him because I was spacing. _"I'm so sorry Tatsuya-kun. I should have been more careful. Here." I bent down and picked up my history book and what looked like a very thick Life Science report, handing the later to him.

"That's okay. I hadn't exactly been paying attention myself." He took the report with a nod of thanks and continued on his way. I noticed that he seemed to walk differently than before. He seemed to move rather stiffly instead of his usual casual grace that made all the girls swoon. _Is he injured?_

"Casey!" I jumped and turned my attention from Tatsuya's back to a familiar smiling face. Yuki pushed her way through the crowd towards me on her crutches. She'd had a long, heated discussion with the doctor about when she could play. Finally, they agreed that if she used crutches for the rest of the week then she could cut a week off of her recovery period and if she wore the brace for the next week and a half then she could go in for a check-up before the district finals. If she passed their test, then she could play in the game. "So, are you ready for practice?"

"Of course I am!"

* * *

"Alright girls, here's the warm-up." The team was gathered around Koto-san, our new coach, in tennis shoes instead of cleats, waiting to hear her first instructions. "Everyone is going to jog down to the post office about a kilometer from here. There, you will find a box of index cards waiting for you outside of the door. Find the card with your position on it, jog back here, and do whatever the card tells you to do. Kojima-chan will be here to help you if you have any questions." That said, she slung an empty backpack over her shoulder and started off in a different direction. 

I stood there confused for a moment before Eva started shouting. "You heard the lady! Let's go!"

I made it to the post office a few seconds behind said goal keeper and it didn't take long for us to find the shoebox full of note cards Eva found hers easily enough and headed back to the school grounds. After much searching I found my own and I too began to retrace my steps. I wanted to read the card in my hand but I kind of wanted it to be a surprise when I got there. Besides, I was afraid that while I was reading I would trip over something.

When I finally made it back to the practice pitch I saw Eva lying on her back beside the goal. Yuki stood over her and tossed her the ball, which she had to catch. I wasn't entirely sure how that would help her but decided not to question the coach (who hadn't returned yet).

Finally, I summoned the courage to look at my own card.

_1) Stretch out._

_2) Get a drink._

_3) Using Northern goal, juggle ball 5 times and volley into net until done correctly 20 times._

_4) Get 5 cones from Kojima, set them up in a line about 1.5 meters apart, and dribble through them at ½ speed. (Increase speed and decrease distance until I tell you to stop.)_

I winced. I was no good at juggling. It was something I absolutely couldn't do and I didn't know why. _It's okay, Casey. It's just 5 times. You can do that many, right?_

-

An hour later, I had completed my first 3 assignments. Yes, it took an _hour_. I told you I was no good at juggling. The team was scattered all over the place doing various drills with each other and on their own. I was feeling extremely frustrated when I asked Yuki for some cones but, having done this drill a million times before with Matsushita-sensei, I was able to get some confidence back.

Finally, Koto-sensei blew the whistle for us to stop. I don't know when she'd returned. She summoned us over to the side of the pitch and tossed us each small bottles of Gatorade from the backpack she'd had earlier. It made me remember the convenience store about 1 ½ km away. She must have jogged there to get us something to drink.

"Okay kiddies, listen up! I've been told I can only have you for another hour or so, so you guys are going to have to do what I tell you to, when I tell you to do it, and without complaint. Got it?" We all nodded. "Good! For the first drill we're going to do, everyone will need a ball."

The team was soon gathered within the center circle. The rules of the game were simple: maintain possession of your own ball while, at the same time, attempting to relieve others of theirs. Another thing was you had to keep moving at a jog. This rule was applied when Koto-san caught Gina leaving her ball near the line and protecting that area, allowing her mind to focus more on getting rid of her teammates. I made it down to the last 3 every time and Miyuki did surprisingly well too.

After the 3rd game, however, Coach blew the whistle. This time, she paired everyone up and left Eva in goal. She herself joined Etsuko.

"Listen up! For this game, you and your partner are going to try to score on Eva. The twist? You are competing against the other groups to score first. If you score, you and your partner get to sit out over there," she pointed towards the sidelines, "for the remainder of the round. The last group to score is out for the remainder of the game while the others will come back in for the next round and continue to compete until there is only one team left. Understand?"

I was kind of confused myself but figured that I would get it once we played it. "S-so we're attacking and defending at the same time?" Miyuki asked quietly.

Koto-san gave her a warm smile. "That's right."

* * *

I collapsed onto the cot we had left in our team room. Yuki carefully sat down in the folding chair across from me, leaning her crutches against the wall. "So," she started. "The school dance is coming this Friday." A grin played at her lips. "Do you have a date?" 

I snorted and sat up. "Me? A date? Psht. Yeah right. What about you? I'm sure that _you, _of all people, would have a date." To my surprise, her grin changed a bit, becoming more distant.

She sighed. "I'm just… waiting for the right person."

"So someone has asked you but you said no?" She nodded distractedly. "Who?"

"Sho." I blinked and suddenly she snapped out of her daydream, eyes wide, as if realizing what she'd just said. She gasped and a blush crept across her face. "I-I mean a boy in our class named Arata. You know him. He's in your homeroom, right?"

"So Sho didn't ask you?" She shook her head violently. "But you wish he would have."

"N-no! That's not what I meant!"

By now, she was such a bright shade of red I thought she was over-heating. I couldn't help but giggle a bit. "Aww. Don't look so embarrassed. He's cute. And it's impossible not to like him!" She jumped up on one leg and practically dove on top of me, shoving a hand over my mouth. I couldn't help but shake with laughter. After a few seconds I pushed her hand away. "Relax, everyone is busy showering or eating. Nobody's going to hear us." As if on cue, Tatsuya walked past the door, headphones coving his ears. Yuki glared at me. "Okay, so not _everyone _is busy." _Thanks a lot Mizuno._

I watched the door for a moment longer, my face falling into it's usual indifferent expression as it did when I got distracted. Yuki hopped one-legged over to her chair and sat down again. A door closed down the hall. "What's the matter?"

"Hmm?" I snapped back to attention.

"You look like you just spaced off for a minute. Is something wrong?"

"Ah—no, I was just wondering what's going on with Mizuno—I mean Tatsuya." I mentally chided myself for being so formal. We were friends… I think. "He's been acting strangely lately."

Her eyes seemed to widen momentarily. "Oh, it's nothing, really. He's just been kind of stressed lately. After all, he and Sho are on that Select Team, remember?" _She's lying. _I could tell by her nervous smile that she was stretching the truth—that is, if she hadn't just abandoned it all together. _Why is she lying to me? _

"Oh." I decided to leave it alone for a while and changed the subject to our new coach. "So anyways, what do you think of Koto-san? She seems like she knows what she's talking about."

Yuki lowered her voice. "I knew I had heard her name somewhere so I looked it up on the internet. She's a professional L-leaguer who is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury. Apparently, her coach sent her away so that she could recover." I gaped. "I didn't believe it at first but I saw a video reply of her injury from the spring season. They said she tore her ACL when she hyper-extended her right knee and they're going to let her play next spring."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, she went to school at Musashinomori when she was younger. I also heard that she and the coach of Musashinomori fought for the right wing position. Maybe they're still competing. Maybe she's training us to defeat her rival's team."

"So she's using us?"

We were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. Miyuki stood there nervously. "Umm… sorry to bother you but Koto-san wants to talk Kojima-chan." Gathering her crutches, Yuki followed the red-head out the door, assuring her that it was no problem.

* * *

Later that night, I found myself alone in my room. Miyuki was downstairs hanging out in the lobby but I couldn't seem to mingle tonight. _Why would Yuki lie to me? And if she's lying than what is **really **going on with Tatsuya? He won't hardly talk to me anymore and he's always tense. What's up with him? _

There was a firm knock on my door. "Come in!" I sat up on my bed and watched Eva open the door.

"I need to borrow your notes for English." I slid off the bed and made my way across the room to my backpack, quickly separating the green notebook from the other contents. "Something's bothering you." It was more of a statement than a question. Then again, she was always like that.

"I asked Yuki what was wrong with Tatsuya today and she said that he was just stressed about the select team but I think she was lying and that bugs me because we're supposed to be friends but—." I had started to speak increasingly fast without taking a breath but she interrupted me before I suffocated and slipping the notebook out of my hands.

"You really don't know, do you?" I shook my head. She shrugged nonchalantly. "He has a crush on you." I stiffened, barely registering the fact that she had left.

_He… has a crush on me? _


	18. You Idiot

Hola! Here I am with chapter 18! I'm _so __**so **_sorry it took so long to update. Also, I realize that I didn't really put much about the new coach in the last chapter but I will find a way to give her a big part in this chapter. I promise! But now, on with the chapter.

* * *

_**Chapter 18: You Idiot**_

_He… has a crush on me?_

_No way. Not Tatsuya. _I sat down on the bed again, rather shaky. _He just doesn't do crushes. Besides, he has all those fangirls. He wouldn't choose me as his crush. I'm… well… me, and he's Mizuno Tatsuya. There's no way that someone like me could have gotten his attention; at least, not that kind of attention. I'm not pretty or a talented soccer player, I'm not smart exactly… at least not compared to him, and I don't wear trendy clothes like all the other girls do. So, why me?_

Miyuki suddenly opened the door and snapped me out of my thoughts. I think she saw me jump. She was worried, that much was easy to tell, but she didn't say anything. "Umm, Koto-san wants to see us downstairs."

"O-okay. I'll be down in a minute." She nodded and quietly closed the door. I stood up again, finding that my legs were quite uncomfortable supporting my weight, but forced them to take me to the bathroom where I quickly splashed water on my face. _Relax Casey. It's not like it's a bad thing. He won't ask you out. He won't. Guys don't ask you those kinds of things. This isn't a fairy tale where everything works out and everyone lives happily ever after. You're not a princess and he isn't Prince Charming. This isn't a TV show. _(A/N That part made me giggle) I slapped my face. _Be reasonable!_

"Alright ladies! Is everyone here?" A chorus of 'yes's answered the coach. Koto clapped her hands perkily. "Okay then. Shall we start? I forced the lot of you down here and away from your personal activities to put you through the torture of listening to my expectations for you! During practice I will be very strict with you guys. If you break the rules you will run. So here are the rules:

Do not interrupt me when I'm talking or whisper to your friends about some cute guy on the boy's team or something. When I talk, you listen. No excuses.

Be on time, all the time. I don't like people being late.

Detentions will also get you in trouble with me. The school principal has agreed to inform me if any of you get in any trouble. That means fighting, failing, and any other thing you could do to get into a pinch with the teachers.

The last rule I can think of at this moment is no swearing! If you can't do it on the field, don't do it in practice. Understood?"

"Hai, Koto-san!"

She smiled. "Good. Dismissed!" I stood up carefully so as not to bang my knee on the coffee table. I had sat on the floor, using the couch as a backrest and resting my hands on the table. The couch had already been occupied. Of course, if I had known that this 'meeting' would take up a grand total of 3 minutes I wouldn't have set down at all. No harm done I suppose.

But as I was getting up I caught a glimpse of a certain brunette exiting the kitchen. He looked startled to see how crowded the lobby was and quickly backed around the corner to avoid being trampled.

Distracted as I was by the presence of the boy, it was an ideal time to sneak up behind me and tap me on the shoulder, making me jump violently and scare the _living crap out of me! _But I'm sure she didn't mean to. I quickly spun around to face Koto-san's face, which—by the way—was about 3 centimeters from my own.

"Can I talk to you?"

I leaned away uncomfortably and stammered, "Uh… s-sure… I guess." I followed Coach outside and onto the empty pitch. I immediately felt my mind snap into soccer mode and looked around for a ball. Koto-san beat me to it.

She started juggling and fixed me with an odd stare. It wasn't angry or curious or distant like she was thinking. In fact, her face seemed so perfectly blank you automatically knew that it had been schooled. I blinked, realizing where I'd seen that face before. It was the same look that a lot of soccer players had when on the field: determined, calm, and at the same time you could almost see the thoughts whirling around in her head—a mixture of acknowledgement, realization, and comprehension that could be sorted out only by the player. She gave the ball a gentle kick in my direction and I fumbled with it for a moment before sort of returning it to her. Without a change of expression she kicked the ball into the air with her heel, lifted it a few more times and sent it back.

After a few more minutes, she spoke. "Kojima-chan said that she told you what she learned on the internet about me." I fumbled the ball and it almost hit the ground but her foot darted underneath it and I had to recover it with my knee, which wasn't easy. "I am an L-league player." I believed her and she seemed to sense that when I returned the ball to her. Again, it was a bit wild but definitely much better than before. "It's also true that I'm competing against the Musashinomori coach."

I divided my attention between juggling and mulling over the implications of what she'd said. She was admitting the fact that she was using us. She waited patiently for my answer and I took my time forming it. Yes, I felt what little control over my actions slip away, but she was going to coach us. She was going to teach us how to get better. That was all I ever wanted from a head coach. So she had her own goals. As long as they didn't interfere with the team's—with mine—I guess I it was okay. So my reply was: "And?"

"You're fine with this?" She passed the ball to me and I one-touched it a little harder than intended. It flew right at her face and she instinctively headed up into the air, catching it as it fell.

"Yes."

Nothing interesting happened for the next few days. We had school, got homework, went to practice after school, and I kept my mouth shut about the coach as she had asked me to. Sure, _I_ accepted her intentions, but who knew what the rest of the team would think? She was just gaining the team's trust and respect and that kind of thing might make them feel betrayed. That was the last thing they needed. First the school, and then their own coach? How did high school drama reach us here?

At first, I thought that she must have picked our team for a reason. She must have seen something in us—something special about us—but it soon hit me that the only reason she had chosen us was because we were the only team that was still alive in the competition without a proper coach. We had to say yes. We hadn't gained her attention by how we could play.

She'd set up a weight-lifting schedule for us. Tuesday and Thursday after school we could be found in the weight room—much to the displeasure of the boys there. I must say, it was very difficult for me. It's not so much that I was weak—in fact, compared to many of the girls I was rather strong—but in Iowa we'd measured weight in pounds. Here in Japan they measured weight in kilograms. The only good part about lifting was that I got my chance to shine. They had a leg-press (which was the only thing I could do well) and I loved being able to keep stacking on weight, make it heavier and heavier, and still be able to move the platform up the slide. Sometimes, though, I'd have to pause and laugh at the girls as they gaped. 3 times my weight, no biggy.

Koto-san also got increasingly harder on us. Each passing day we came in for supper more exhausted than the day before. Weight-lifting days almost seemed like a relaxing day. I slept very well Wednesday night… and Thursday night for that matter.

Friday night we got lucky. Coach let us out of practice early to let us 'rest up for tomorrow' but we all knew it was so we could get ready for the dance. Which reminds me, I didn't even know what this dance was for. Back at home we'd had a harvest dance but since coming here I'd not seen much agriculture. When I asked Yuki she said that it was just a tradition to hold a dance around the end of October. I didn't bother questioning it. I wasn't much of a dancer but the lively atmosphere and pounding music was a lot of fun.

Of course, it made me start to think of Tatsuya. Now that I knew about it the signs seemed much more obvious but I still wasn't entirely sure I liked him back. Or maybe it was that I didn't want to because there was _no way_ that he liked me. Maybe there was a completely different reason he was nervous around me. Maybe he thought that _I_ liked _him_ and wanted to be careful about how he came off. Which was exactly the same thing I was doing. And maybe I was driving this _whole _thing out of perspective and have lost my mind and just need to sit back and wait until this whole mess reveals itself before I start freaking out.

Too late.

The girls' soccer team walked in a tight group as we rounded the corner of the school and proceeded to the front doors. A long line of people already spilled out of the entrance and down the steps so we had to wait a good 15 minutes to get in. A wrinkly old teacher that looked like he'd been left over from the '30s sat behind a table and sorted through the cashbox with excruciating slowness to retrieve change. I was suddenly very glad I had gathered the exact amount of yen needed to gain entrance.

An endless flow of conversation and the hint of music that escaped from the gymnasium where the party was kept everyone occupied enough to not rip their eyes out with irritation.

Or maybe the irritation was just me. You see, several of the guys from the boys' team waited behind us for the last 10 minutes. As you have probably guessed, Mizuno-san was among them. A handful of girls fawned over him, hanging off his arms and cooing "Tatsuya-kun," over and over as they competed for his attention. A deep, cutting irritation that most likely resembled jealousy (something I'd admit to myself if no one else) raked through my chest and along my throat, threatening to break loose in a hate-filled snarl. I had a problem, a _big_ problem. I just wanted to get out of there. I wanted to escape to the other side of the trembling gym and drown out my frustration with music that made the windows shudder and small talk that could go on forever, kind of like this line that was wearing on my last nerve!

Shige was the life saver. After elbowing past a couple dozen disgruntled classmates, he scared the girls away with a look that clearly said 'you're in my way.' After they'd shuffled back in the line and the insistent squealing and pleading had stopped he whispered something in Tatsuya's ear, earning himself a glare and a swing to the back of the head.

Carefully, I turned around to face forward in the line and took a deep, relaxing breath. Now that those girls were gone I found myself much calmer. Yuki joined me and began that oh-so-wonderful small-talk that rescues one from unpleasant thoughts. She'd left her crutches at home but wore the knee brace like she'd promised the doctor she would. I pointedly ignored her discomfort at the fact that Sho also stood not-so-far away.

As promised, the music was good and so was the food. Coach forbade us from having pop the night before a game so we all took water bottles. Of course, I was not entirely sure that this was about the pop, especially not after she told us the keep them all in one place so we wouldn't 'lose' them. She fully expected someone to be there watching them most—if not the entire—time. You wouldn't think such of middle schoolers but I'd seen enough back home to watch for such things. Yes, even in Iowa. Probability and possibility were 2 things you never wanted to mix up… but usually do.

_**Mizuno's POV: **_

Mizuno Tatsuya had always considered himself a pretty calm person. His bouts of anger were few and far between and he rarely got hyper or euphoric unless he was playing soccer. Even then, his excitement was mild. He'd thought this level of emotion was normal and that he was just better at disguising it but now he knew better. Now he knew just how powerful emotions could be.

What he was feeling now was very near panic and it was all he could do to not explode with its fury. His mask was being torn apart at the seams. Shige, Sho, and even Daichi had noticed his relentless fidgeting, spacing out to gather his composure, and the slight shaking of his hands. He'd elected to keep quiet after discovering the way his voice wavered unsteadily. He'd never been one to stutter but he could not seem to make his words flow like they usually did.

He mentally cursed himself and glanced momentarily at the cause of his discomfort. She'd navigated the crowd and slipped over to the other wall with surprising quickness. Somewhere in the last few days she'd become more than just a little crush and he wasn't even sure why. She wasn't ugly, but she wasn't particularly pretty either; her soccer skills—though improving rapidly—were still amateur; and her generally quiet nature had not helped her to attain popularity.

So why….

Why did he like her?

Maybe it was the fierce way she protected her team, defying her un-outgoing nature. Or her determination to live up to the player her teammates saw her as, reckless though it was. Perhaps, even, it was her actions. They were always done to help out someone else, even if it meant that she would hurt herself in some way.

"Oi! Tatsu-bon!" Tatsuya was snapped out of his thoughts by an irritated-looking Shige. "You're too grumpy. During the next slow song, go ask her to dance. If she says no, then she doesn't like you that way. Oh well. Who cares. Move on." Without waiting for a response the blonde danced his way deep into the crowd, disappearing in an instant. He couldn't help but smile at his friend's antics. He was so straight forward and nothing seemed to faze him. Shige had a different kind of emotional block. He used sarcasm and friendly, outgoing behavior to deflect any effort to get in his head. It was one reason he tolerated the blonde.

He began to wonder whether she knew his secret. Part of him wanted to believe that she hadn't, that she would have approached him by now if she had, but the rest of him did not think that she could have missed it. It was nigh impossible. The thought scared him because even though he'd been doing his best to avoid her, he could not help but notice the way she could often be seen thinking, a thoroughly confused look on her face. And when she looked at him… it was an odd look… calculating, but different. Not the look he received from his opponants. It did not feel like she was sizing him up. It felt more like she was gauging his reaction to her presence and judging accordingly. It made him nervous.

A slow song replaced the blasting rock that had been previously bursting from the speakers. It was a smooth and flowing melody. He watched the couples sway to the beat on the dance floor, but they were almost on top of him before he realized they were heading towards him. Daichi and Santino had glided over and he blinked in surprise upon seeing the possessive way his teammate hugged the girl's waist.

"You're an idiot," she informed him. He shot her a glare. "Go talk to her. She already knows you like her."

He choked on air. "W-what?"

She rolled her eyes at him and proceeded to speak to him as if her were a small child. "She was so clueless I had to tell her. Don't worry, she likes you. She keeps trying to tell herself that you wouldn't like her like that but she knows she's wrong. Ask her to dance. She'll say yes." And they maneuvered their way back onto the dance floor.


	19. Getting Together

_**Chapter 19: Getting Together**_

_**Still Mizuno's POV:**_

"_Ask her to dance. She'll say yes."_

Fuwa and Eva returned to the slowly-swaying crowd and left me standing there stunned. _S-she knows?! _I clenched my fist as the last note of the song resonated through the gym. It infuriated me that they had done this. I didn't need it. I could have gotten over it. I didn't want their help! I could have just… suffered… all alone… like I always did. It would blow over. If I just could've held on…. If she didn't know….

"OI!" Fingers snapped impatiently in front of my nose. A blonde-haired menace scowled down at me. _Where did he come from? I didn't see him come back. _Shige sighed and, with a sober expression, slung an arm across my shoulder. "You know, you're a pretty big pain in the butt, Tatsu-bon."

I glowered. I hated that nickname.

"I mean, you know you like her, but you're too chicken to do anything about it." _I'm not chicken. _As if reading my thoughts, the blonde replied. "Don't you try to tell me that this is just a small crush and it doesn't mean anything. You're a big scaredy cat who won't take a risk on something that could make him happy because there's a chance that it could turn out bad. Stop running and take it like a man."

"This coming from _you_," I mumbled. Shige ignored the comment.

"You like her. She likes you. If you weren't so damn stubborn you'd have known what to do a long time ago. It's not a crime to like a girl you know. It's not a crime to like a boy either but that's your choice…." The blonde got a thoughtful look on his face but after a moment of gawking on my part he came back to reality. This time, however, his gaze landed on a solitary figure across the gym.

I looked too. She seemed so uncomfortable, confused. Her arms were crossed and she appeared to be trying to push herself through the gym wall and out of sight.

"You see that?" I glared at Shige. "Every minute that you stand here, determined to make yourself suffer, she suffers too." I was still glaring at the blonde but didn't receive a second glance.

Suddenly, in a horrifying gesture, he waved. I whipped my head around violently. She frowned and looked around before waving back uncertainly.

"Ask her to dance you idiot!" And he was gone.

I knew this was his way of saying that it was all up to me now. It was my argument and my responsibility. Thank god he was gone. Now that he wasn't laying the guilt trip on me I found it much easier to make my choice. I'd just stick with my first plan. I'd let her get on with her life and I'd go on with mine. I'd save us both from complete destruction. _"Every minute that you stand here, determined to make yourself suffer, she suffers too."_

As if on cue, a slow song came began to flow softly from the speakers, a gentle melody. And there she stood.

"Umm… Tatsuya?" I blinked back to reality and found a cherry red Sho standing before me shyly. "I, uh… well I want to…" He paused and took a deep breath, turning a darker shade of red. When he started again his voice was stronger but came out extremely fast. "I want to ask Kojima-san to dance."

He fell silent then, as if he'd undergone a deep humiliation. I looked at him startled. He was going to ask her? Without knowing if she liked him back? "Y-you do?" I was still surprised. Little Sho had the guts to put his heart on the line… and I didn't.

"I was kind of wondering… if you could ask her for me." I glanced involuntarily over at Yuki. She had her back to us. Casey was right next to her.

"Uh, yeah. Sure. Hang on a minute." I left a nervous-looking Sho in the corner of the gym. Had I been in the corner? _"I mean, you know you like her, but you're too chicken to do anything about it." _I flinched but continued making my way around the edges of the crowd. _Don't call me a coward Shige. It's not as easy for me as it is for you._

_**Casey's POV:**_

_He's coming over here. Oh god, he's coming. _My hands began to shake and sweat. Gotta relax. I've got to relax. On his way over I saw him pause. Judging by the flash of blond in the crowd of dancers, I guessed it was Shige. _Wait a minute, who's Shige dancing with?_

I couldn't help but glance up at them. Quickly of course, but it was enough. Miyuki was there, small and bright red, with her delicate hands draped lightly, almost hesitantly, over his shoulders. In spite of myself, I felt a burst of pride. Shige would be good for her. He was the type to dominate the scene and she liked to stand in the background. Maybe he could help her there. Maybe she would pick up some of Shige's excess confidence.

But my mind snapped back into place as he began moving again, scowl slightly deeper than before. But he wasn't looking at me… he was looking at Yuki. I felt a stab of disappointment. I know I should have been expecting this but, without my knowing, I'd gotten my hopes up. And they didn't look in any shape to be flying again soon. They were just a crushed, insignificant puddle in the middle of a busy highway.

He tapped her on the shoulder and she looked at him confused. He tried saying something to her but Yuki couldn't hear him. He had to lean in real close to talk to her. A semi-truck just came down the highway.

After a moment she grinned and waltzed off. I watched her in confusion. _Where is she going? _She stopped in the far corner of the gym where Tatsuya had stood earlier. This time, a wildly blushing Sho (whose face was so red I could see it from where I was) fidgeted there. They exchanged a few words before she grabbed his hand, almost skipping to the center of the dance floor and dragging a dazed-looking Sho behind her. Don't askme how she could do that with a knee brace on.

Yuki was confident and euphoric…. Sho was nervous and stiff. I felt like Sho. _He_ was still standing there. A violent movement in peripheral caught my eye. Shige was gesturing wildly with unknown purpose. _What is he doing? _He stopped suddenly and grinned before returning his attention to Miyuki. I glanced over at Tatsuya in time to see him retracting his middle finger.

I had to stifle a laugh.

He was still here but I didn't have the heart to get my hopes up again. I just stood there awkwardly. I felt a hesitant tap on my shoulder. I looked up the extended arm into Tatsuya's face. He seemed fidgety. And like that, with one touch, my crushed hopes sprung back to life. I'm quite pathetic, aren't I?

He seemed to be struggling with his words and when they eventually came out they were much too quiet for me to hear. I cupped a hand around my ear. He sighed in exasperation and pointed to me, then to himself, and then to the dance floor. At that particular moment the song ended. Back to the highway. He, too, seemed defeated.

"Hey, hey ladies and gents!" A deep baritone erupted from the speakers. "It's the last dance of the night!" There was a wave of shock among the faces in the crowd. It was almost over? Already? "Let's end it slow. Everybody pick a partner now and get back on the dance floor!"

I heard Tatsuya sigh next to me. In the silence before the song he asked, "Would you dance with me?" It wasn't tense or stressed anymore, just tired. I could see it on his face, hear it in his voice. He didn't want to fight it anymore. He just wanted a dance.

I nodded and followed him on the dance floor. I had to reach up pretty far to find his shoulders but that was okay. His hands on my waist didn't send a shock through me as I had thought it would. It was just warm and comforting. For a moment we swayed to the song with a good 6 inches between us but it was only for a minute. He soon pulled me closer, against him. I was sick of being confused, sick of thinking things through. All I knew was that right here, right now, I was happy.

Oh so happy….

Then, the song ended. I took my head off of Tatsuya's chest, suddenly exhausted. That emotional roller coaster was finally catching up with me. All the nervousness, the fidgeting, and the worrying I'd done tonight had sapped energy out of me. But it was all worth it.

We parted reluctantly but stayed close so as to not get separated in the crowd that filed out of the gym. Many of them formed a mass of chattering bodies outside the front door. They stood on the steps and the sidewalk and made a horrible traffic jam as they waited for their parents to arrive and drive them home. Once again, we made sure not to get separated in the crowd.

After we emerged from the crowd we joined a group of soccer players on their way back to the dorm. A few meters ahead of us Yuki and Sho walked hand in hand, talking quietly with small smiles on their faces. To their left, Fuwa had his arm around Eva. They walked in silence, just enjoying each others company.

I found myself lazily pursuing the answer to the question "Who asked who?" Both of them seemed too fiercely independent to have admitted such a thing as fancying each other. I found no answer and decided that it didn't really matter. They were together and that was that.

Ahead of this couple was the rest of the team, separated into little groups and talking in excited voices that sounded something like a roar when all put together. Gomi was trying to strangle Santa for dancing with his sister, Masato and Yusuke were mercilessly teasing a bright red Noro for dancing with Keiko, and half of the girls on my team were huddled together, whispering excitedly and throwing conspicuous glances at the 3 couples behind them. Well… 4.

Shige suddenly materialized behind us and threw an arm around each of our shoulders. Miyuki came up to walk beside me, giving me a bright smile. "Oi! How are you doing kiddies?" Tatsuya blanched at being called a 'kiddie.' "You know, you 2 sure caused a lot of drama here. Doesn't it feel better to just go with the flow? You shouldn't be so stubborn."

The blonde made a quick retreat to escape Tatsuya's fist. Soon afterwards, though, he pushed back up between me and Tatsuya, resting his elbow on the later's shoulder. My exhaustion grew. To deal with someone as energetic as him always made you feel that way.

After a few short words that I wasn't bothering to listen to at the moment he retreated once again. He grabbed my shoulder and pushed me into Tatsuya's side, placing the brunette's arm carefully around my waist (something I wasn't about to object to), as if performing a delicate procedure. That accomplished, he bounced over to Miyuki and swiped the barrette from her hair. Without it, red locks fell into her face.

"Shige!" Her voice wasn't angry, just playfully indignant. "Give that back!" The blonde jogged through the groups ahead of us until he was far into the lead. He held up the hair piece triumphantly, his ever present grin seeming even wider. It glittered in the light from the street lamps. A moment later, she chased after him. I saw her jump half-heartedly in an attempt to retrieve her barrette but Shige held it high over her head. "Shige?" She gave him a puppy dog look and he appeared to give in. His hand brushed against her face as he neatly swept her hair back and secured the barrette himself. I expected a bright blush but it was only a light pink tinge in her cheeks.

The couple led the rest of the way to the dorms, Shige with an arm around Miyuki possessively.

Once we reached our destination the majority of people went upstairs. Fuwa and Eva snuggled on the couch and watched an action movie. Gomi, Gina, and Etsuko joined them. Shige led Miyuki to the kitchen for a bedtime snack. The rest of us were headed for soft mattresses, warm sheets, and the comforting view of the back of our eyelids. After all, we had games tomorrow.

Tatsuya dropped me off at my door. He looked like he wanted to say something meaningful but in the end he just settled for "Good night."

_Everything was white. Not blindingly white, just blank—devoid of landscape, people, and purpose. I watched myself wait patiently, for I knew subconsciously that the figure there—here—was me. I also knew that time was passing, 20 minutes maybe, but I wasn't aware of any more than a few moments. Eventually—but quickly—a 2nd figure appeared. This one was a boy with hansom, indistinguishable features. I knew who this was too._

"_Tatsuya-kun!" I walked towards him but seemed to get no closer._

"_Casey?" The replying voice was soft and velvety. I recognized it immediately as his. It made me swell with happiness. He could do no wrong. He walked towards me too, but again, he seemed to get no closer. Then he smiled. Oh god, that smile. "Did you like the joke last night?"_

_I blinked in confusion. "Joke?"_

"_Yeah, Shige dared me to act like I like you." He laughed whole-heartedly. It was such a beautiful laugh but so crushing. I didn't find it nearly as funny. Something in my chest tightened and twisted painfully. I felt like my heart was being torn out._

"_A… dare?" My voice was quiet, meek. There was no disbelief, I knew it was true. Hadn't I known that he would never like me? Hadn't I known?_

_He regarded me with an extremely amused half-smile that wrenched apart my pride. I take that back, it was a mocking smirk that ripped my pride into tiny, atomic pieces. "You didn't think I was for real, did you?"_

"_O-of course not!"_

_He seemed ignorant to the obviousness of this lie. "I told Shige you weren't stupid enough to fall for it. I mean, I'd never go out with you. You're ugly and short… a loser… a horrible soccer player." The words echoed in the blankness as if we were in a very large room. They tore through me with the same intensity each pass no matter how many times I heard them._

_The next thing I knew, he was walking away from me. A door appeared before him along with Shige. I knew I did not want him to open that door just as certainly as I knew that was him and I was me. I tried to yell at him to stop but he couldn't hear. I tried to run there but it was about as effective as going up a down escalator, you get tired but you don't go anywhere. At least, not very fast. Not fast enough. I tried to run faster pouring what was left of my heart and soul into it, legs screaming in protest, but I only seemed to slow down._

_The 2 boys clasped hands, Shige grinning like the Cheshire Cat. And then he faded away. Now there was nothing stopping Tatsuya from opening the door. And he sure didn't waste any time doing so. Blinding light spilled out from the other side and he disappeared in its brilliance._

_Suddenly, I was there in the doorway. It was Katori-sensei's classroom. At the front, leaning against said teacher's desk was a girl of unsurpassed beauty. She held a soccer ball under her arm, balanced on her hip. Confident, popular, talented… worthy. Tatsuya walked right up to her, placed an arm on her waist, and kissed her. I couldn't breathe. _

_The classroom morphed into the team room at the dorms. Yuki stood over me with her hands on her hips and an angry expression I'd only seen directed at me after I'd nearly missed the bus for the game. I don't remember what I was sitting on but it seemed to shrink with each passing second._

"_I'm sorry Casey, but you just aren't good enough anymore. We need someone better." That girl appeared next to her, receiving a smile. "Welcome to the team." And she handed over my jersey._

_The dorm room faded away, replaced by the team, __**my **__team. The girl that had kissed Tatsuya was there in my position with my jersey. I was on the sidelines. Her ball control was incredible and she had excellent aim, dribbling around the other players like they weren't even there. She gave a perfect pass to Yuki who easily scored. Everyone was playing better. The 2 of them hugged and held up a large trophy labeled 'Regional Tournament Champions.' I wanted to cry. They made it to the regionals without me. They didn't need me. I wasn't good enough for anyone anymore…._

I woke up with a gasp and a sob, the nightmare vivid in my head. Miyuki mumbled something in her sleep and rolled over. She was smiling. Ashamed, I swiped at the tears on my cheeks and pulled my knees up to my chest. _I don't have the right to pity myself. It's my own damn fault. I never tried hard enough._

I was wide awake by now and wasn't going to fall asleep any time soon. I looked at the clock. 4:17. It wasn't that bad. I snuck out of my bed and changed as silently as I could so as not to wake Miyuki. I put on my uniform shorts, a plain white t-shirt, and grabbed my cleats. On the way downstairs I stopped in at the team room and grabbed a soccer ball. However, as I was leaving I turned back around and grabbed a large bag full. It wasn't just practice, it was training.

_I don't want to be that pathetic again. Ever. I'll practice 24-7 if I have to._


	20. It's Official

Hola peoples! Eep! (dodges sharp objects) I know I haven't updated in a long time! Not since the end of November and I'm sorry! Please be patient with me! I did some minor editing in the former chapters (spelling and grammar check only) and I'll try my best but I'm afraid I'll have to end it soon. I never have the drive to end my stories (cries). Anyways, here you go.

* * *

_**Chapter 20: It's Official**_

I snarled. _Why isn't it going where I'm aiming it? Am I doing something differently?_ This time, I paid close attention to what I was doing. Where I was planting my foot, how fast my counter action was, what part of my foot connected with the ball, the direction of the follow-through. No detail was too small. I finally decided that my balance was different. I was standing right above the ball.

_Okay. I need to lean away from the ball this time. Away from the ball…. _This time, my aim was better. I had tied a stray piece of zip-tie to the net. It was black and the only light came from the street lamp but I made due. I set up the balls in a line and aimed for the zip-tie in the middle of the net. I had tried placing the ball in the corner but chasing after the ball constantly and the rattling noise it made when it hit the fence was irritating. Besides, I didn't want to wake anyone up.

My aim didn't improve much after that. Tiny mistakes—even the slightest misbalance—would throw everything off. I wouldn't have a perfect set-up in a game, so my struggling at this level was extremely frustrating, but I had to start somewhere.

When I could hit the tie 8 out of 10 times (a feat that took over an hour) I set up some cones extending from the base line to the half line. I spent 20 minutes there at a fast run before taking a break. I often had to skip cones as the ball got ahead of me and I ended up forcing myself to start all over again. I gave myself time to catch my breath and started again. After the 5th try I got all the way through and I only missed one cone on the way back.

Then I went back to my target practice. I must have improved because I got 9 on my 3rd try! After that, I began to shoot from different distances and angles. This was considerably more difficult and it wasn't until somewhere around 7:00 that I had gotten my 8 of 10.

I was exhausted now. I gathered up the balls and put them back in the bag. It was much lighter out now. The sun had just cleared the horizon, casting long shadows off the goal posts. I wanted so bad to sleep. Just sleep.

I stumbled back into the dorms and glared irritably at the stairs. It was a long climb. _Here we go. _I grunted slightly and hefted the ball bag onto my shoulder before starting my ascent. They suddenly seemed really heavy. Never-the-less I made it up aforementioned stairs and down the hall to our team room. Unfortunately, after opening the door, I discovered that I was not alone.

Yuki-chan stood over near the small closet and was rummaging through it. Upon hearing me enter she jumped violently and nearly fell over, wincing as she placed sudden weight on her injured leg. Apparently, she'd not expected anyone else to be up either. "Casey-chan, what're you—?" She stopped as she noticed the ball bag slung over my shoulder. I looked down and realized just how sweaty I was. "Casey!" She hobbled over with her brace, looking worried, and took the bag from me. "We have a game today! You should be resting!"

"Sorry," I mumbled, providing no further explanation. She gave me a look but said nothing, settling for taking the balls away and sending me to my room. I rinsed off some of the sweat and collapsed in bed for a few hours of rest. Miyuki would wake me up when it was time….

* * *

_**Mizuno's POV:**_

I searched the lobby for Casey for the umpteenth time and was—for the umpteenth time—unsuccessful. I also looked in the kitchen. No luck there either. Fortunately, Kojima _was_ there.

"Kojima-chan!" I called. She turned away from the cupboard, holding a glass. "Have you seen Casey?"

Kojima rolled her eyes. "I know where she had _better_ be. She had _better_ be upstairs sleeping after I caught her out practicing this morning! Honestly, the day of a game?" She grumbled the last part as she poured herself a glass of milk.

Feeling defeated, I grabbed a bagel off the counter and bit into it. Why was Casey such a hard person to deal with? It's not that she's annoying or pushy or arrogant, she just isn't very…_approachable_. At least, not for me.

"Are you going to our game this afternoon?" Kojima questioned after sipping some of her milk. "You guys don't have a game, do you?"

"No game this weekend. If I can find a ride I'll go to yours, though." This got me thinking. I'd never really seen their team play in a game before. Sure, I'd seen them in practice, but that's hardly the same thing. "Do you think Matsushita-san would drive?"

"We had a few open seats on the bus." Kojima grinned. "You could be our 'manager' for today. I'm sure Koto-san wouldn't mind."

I thought a moment. It _was_ a ride. And I could talk to Casey. Immediately, I shook this thought from my head. Right before a game was _not_ the time for something like that. Especially not_ this_ game. It was far too important for her to be distracted by something like…this. "No thanks. I think I'll talk to Matsushita-san."

Kojima nodded in understanding and didn't say any more.

* * *

_**Casey's POV:**_

The bus was pulled up in the parking lot at 5 minutes to 10:00 and I climbed onto it with a yawn. I'd gotten about 2 and a half more hours of sleep after my little training session and was not quite awake yet.

_Focus Casey. Get focused on the game. _I hadn't seen Tatsuya yet this morning and I didn't know if this was a good or bad thing. I really needed to know what he was going to say, what he was going to do; but—at the same time—I'm not sure I would have been able to deal with it if I knew what it was. Either way, it was not a good situation.

I thought about Tatsuya on the bus ride, pulling on my shinguards and cleats, and even while taking a lap around the field for a warm-up. However, as soon as I started getting some touches on the ball, I was able to push him from my mind. All that remained from the last 24 hours was that deep, burning, persistent need to prove myself—to show that I was not worthless.

They took first kick-off. #11 tapped to #9 who dodged Akiko (left wing who moved up to left forward to cover Kojima's position) and tried to pass up the field to the rapidly penetrating forward. I intercepted, now fully focused. My problems were inconsequential here on the field. The ball was all that mattered now….

At half-time all of the mid-fielders (including me) collapsed on the ground. It had always been difficult to play with 11 people—let alone 10. We had controlled the ball for much of the first half, but when Kokubu got a chance for a run, they got in quick. Luckily, our defense seemed to be holding up well. Eva looked bored.

Nobody had scored yet. Sure, we'd controlled the ball a lot in the first half, but it came with a heavy price. I didn't think we could last another 40 minutes. Kojima and Koto tossed us each water-bottles and towels. Man, it was hot today. Nobody wanted to talk. Koto-san didn't even give us the usual half-time critic/pep-talk. She simply allowed us to remain 'in-the-zone'. I made the most of my 10 minutes but got up, ready, when the warning whistle was blown.

We really did play our hearts out. We pushed ourselves to our limits and beyond. There were 2 minutes left and all of the midfielders were completely dead. Akiko and Miyuki were running out of steam. The defense was getting tired but they might be able to hold on. Eva was panting as she went up to the 18 to punt the ball. This would have to be our last run.

My legs felt like jelly as I received the punt, catching it with my foot. _One last time!_ I screamed mentally. Exhausted, I dodged a Kokubu mid-fielder… and then another. Desperately, I sent it to the right corner. Miyuki must have sensed the do-or-die in my clear because she sprinted past the defense (being careful of offsides). I cut to the center—just ran straight into the goal box. I saw Miyuki's cross as if it were in slow motion. I couldn't catch up to it. Akiko wouldn't be able to either. The keeper was coming out.

A leg came out of no where and planted itself right in front of me. I tripped, stumbled. The ball was almost here. _One last time!_ It was our last run. I couldn't let it go to waste. I pushed off the ground with one leg and both of my arms and threw my weight at it.

The next thing I new, I was lying on the ground. The side of my head stung a little and the opposing goalkeeper was lying on top of me. I looked up and saw the ball, clearly nestled in the corner of the net and a cheer went up from the sidelines.

_We scored…._

_**WE SCORED!**_

I let my head fall onto the ground and let out a breath of relief. I felt the goalkeeper get up and heard her hiss out a swear word or 2. I allowed a small smile and clambered to my feet unsteadily. The rest of the team grinned at me from their positions, knowing not to waste their energy running over, but a light back in their eyes. A minute and a half left. We could hold them off that long.

Akiko slung an arm around my shoulders and let out a 'whoop!' I just grinned in response as we made our way back to the half-line at a jog. Miyuki and I clasped hands on the way back.

"Nice cross."

"Nice header."

Surprisingly, Eva was waiting for us as we returned. "You 3 stay up," she ordered, motioning to Akiko, Miyuki, and I. "Let the defense do the rest. If you get the ball, play around with it. You're all too exhausted to score again." She then headed back to the goal, quickly giving the remaining 3 midfielders similar orders. When the whistle was blown and the clock restarted we were ready for what ever they could throw at us.

After what seemed like forever, the last second ticked away and the ref blew the final whistle. We went through the usual post-game ritual in trances and when we made it back to the bench we were quickly surrounded by parents, our coaches, Kojima, and a few classmates.

"CASEY-CHAN!" I blinked and turned around. Tatsuya had pushed politely through the crowd and jumped on top of me almost before I realized who it was. "You did a great job!" he told me, picking me up in a hug and spinning me around. I stumbled on the landing slightly but he still had a hold of me and just grinned.

"Tatsuya-kun!" I paused uncertainly. Did he_ really_ like me? Suddenly, he leaned down and gave me a peck on the lips. Then, as if just realizing what he'd done, he gave a blush and studied my face as if gauging my reaction.

"So…" Shige suddenly appeared beside us. "Is it official now?" We both gave him a confused look and he rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh. "You guys are dating now, right?" He looked at me as if asking permission and I must've been blushing like no other because he just grinned and bent down to kiss me again. "I guess that's a yes."

* * *

Okay people. I have a favor to ask you all. I have grown frustrated trying to narrate the games so I want to know if someone would like to write up the Musashinomori game. If so, please send it to me. You will be given credit as the author but I _might_ revise some of it to fit the story. If you could help me out here it would be much appreciated! I want to make my story as good as possible. Note: Sakura Josui does not have to win. I can work with just about anything. You have until May 31st. Thank you!


	21. Musashinomori

Hello peoples! I meant to get this up sooner but I got distracted by another internet website. Anyhoo… everyone please make sure to thank Randomcat for the game. She's the only one that sent anything in by the deadline. THANK YOU!

* * *

_**Chapter 21: Musashinomori**_

I couldn't tell if the week before the Musashinomori game passed in a flash or if it took its time. I was nervous as hell but excited. Koto-san was extremely tense—a mood we'd never seen her in before. Practices became more and more harsh as the week went on and Yuki watched it all sadly from the sidelines. She was dying to get out on the field, everyone could see it.

And even with our harsh schedule, we had no trouble at school. In fact, we seemed to focus more because of it. Schoolwork became the break and playing soccer became our occupation. It was a nice—if not odd—change.

Katori-sensei seemed distracted all week and her lectures kept getting cut off as she forgot what she was talking about. This frustrated her and Friday she declared that day's English class a study hall.

The girls' concentration went through the roof. They put their heart into everything they did, often neglecting their social life in order to get homework or practice done. Every night before bed a small crowd of us (whoever was finished with homework) would gather in the lobby and watch tapes of Musashinomori's games. This would often turn into strategy meetings that Coach reluctantly broke up to make sure we got sleep. I could tell, though, that she appreciated our dedication.

However, no matter how crazy it got, Tatsuya was there to help me. Most of the time, he would simply play the calm one. He sat next to me on the couch—arm around my shoulders—and helped analyze the tapes, he would sneak up behind me and give me a hug when I was stressed, and he did homework with me, just to let me know he was there. He was an incredible boyfriend and I felt undeserving, but I was glad he was mine all the same.

Tatsuya and I, however, weren't the only ones getting closer. Sho was often seen consulting Yuki when she dropped into a depression and as much as I wanted to be there for my best friend, I knew Sho could cheer her up better than I could. Daichi and Eva also appeared to be working together to sort through problems. Daichi provided stats, and encouragement when Eva would take none from us. Shige would always be there when Miyuki was getting overwhelmed. He was her comic relief in times of stress and it seemed to help her.

Then, it was finally here. The day of the game….

* * *

I woke up that morning full of nerves. I blew through my usual routine (get dressed, brush teeth, brush hair, wash face, etc) and was finishing up straightening my side of the room (nervous habit) when I heard a knock on the door. I answered it. Tatsuya and Shige were there in the hallway, grinning.

"You ready?" Tatsuya asked. I nodded, smiling back.

"Is Miyuki still asleep?" Shige peered past me into the room, smirking mischievously. Without waiting for an answer he squeezed past me and launched himself at the lump beneath the covers on Miyuki's bed. There was a little bit of movement and the covers shifted just enough so that we could see a head of messy red hair and a pair of green eyes.

She blinked sleepily at him, as if she didn't recognize him and then groaned, pulling the covers over her head again. "Shiii-geee…."

His grin widened and he tugged the covers down, revealing her night shirt and a pair of baby pink shorts. She shivered at the sudden draft. "Up an' at 'em!" he sang. She sat up and scowled at him. With a small chuckle he gave he a peck on the lips.

She heaved another sigh but otherwise ceased to argue and crawled out of bed. It didn't take long for nerves to catch up to her too and wake her up. We sat on the beds and waited as she went about her own morning ritual in the bathroom. It only took about 5 minutes.

We proceeded downstairs where we had a wonderful breakfast prepared by Sho and Daichi. Quiet conversation settled over the table as we reviewed what we'd decided on in our strategy meetings. Kojima was quiet and too reserved. I was about to talk to her when Sho reached over from her other side and gently took her hand. She relaxed a little after this.

"It looks like Sho's got things under control," Tatsuya whispered. I nodded in response. He would be good for her. Ever since her friend died, she'd been pretty disconnected from everyone else. She learned to do things on her own and became a strong person. Now that she had someone to help her (2 someones), she was even stronger.

Suddenly, Coach stood up. She looked grim. "Breakfast is over ladies. Get your things."

We boarded the bus solemnly, as if we were headed to the firing wall. Tatsuya hugged me and kissed my forehead, wishing me good luck and assuring me that he'd be at the game. I hugged back fiercely and boarded the bus behind Yuki. She smiled at me, silently telling me to calm down. I did. I took a few deep breaths and brought out my ipod for the bus ride.

It took about an hour to get to Musashinomori. A second bus, I learned, would be about half an hour behind us. Upon learning how far the girls' soccer team had advanced in the district tournament (or at least noticing how long we stayed in the dorms), the school decided to offer a bus for spectators. I began to wonder how many people would actually come but decided it was a bad thing to worry about.

We entered the locker room at Musashinomori in silence. They were nice locker rooms. We got into our uniforms, strapped on shin-guards, and pulled on cleats. Coach came in halfway through changing and gave us a pep-talk we readily took in. We were in the zone in no time. We warmed upon one of the practice fields while they readied the pitch we'd be playing on. We did a lap, stretched, passed, shot a few on goal, and did various other activities. I saw the spectator bus pull in with 10 minutes to spare. I tried to ignore it.

Five minutes before kick-off we went onto the real pitch and waited for the announcers to call out the starters. Suddenly, there was a bright flash. I blinked a few times and found a dark-haired boy standing in front of me, grinning and holding a camera.

"Hi Casey-chan! Are you ready for the big game?"

"Arata?" I remembered him from that day in homeroom. He'd seen our game against Hitana. "What are you doing here?"

"Ryota and I are covering your game today. I'm the cameraman." As if to prove his point, he flashed another picture.

Putting my arms up to defend my eyes, I placed my palm over the camera lens and forced it down. "Don't do that." He grinned apologetically before jogging over to the stoic blonde—his partner, the reporter.

I saw Arata babbling happily to Ryota but my attention was soon drawn back to the field as the announcer began his speech on sportsmanship. As the visiting team, we were introduced first. As our names were called, we ran out onto the field and stood side-by-side along the center line. Koto-san also came to stand beside me. She was grinning.

The Musashinomori team followed the same ritual and lined up even with us. Their coach—a tall, sturdy-built brunette—shared Koto's expression. I noticed that when they shook hands there was no hate, just a playful competitiveness. It made me smile as I shook hands with the girl across from me.

As I looked down their line of players, I noticed that they brought out _all_ the big guns. This would be an intense game.

Feeling nervous, I proceeded to my position on the field. My heart was pounding. Suddenly, a roar went up from the stands. Blinking, I looked over at them. Our bleachers were filled to the brim with cheering fans. Some I recognized as parents of the boys' team and our own parents, others were our classmates. I almost fell over in surprise as I saw a banner cheering us on.

Shaking my head to clear it, I got back in the game. So many people were here supporting us. I couldn't let them down. Coach had a rivalry only we could help her with now, Kojima wanted desperately to help even though she knew we had to prove we could do this on our own, our parents and long-time supporters continued to push us to succeed, and our classmates were finally seeing our real strength.

We _had_ to play well. No, we had to do better than that. We had to win. I could feel the adrenaline rushing through me as I bent my knees and prepared for the whistle.

* * *

Their kick off was quick, which I expected. It was dropped back to their center mid as we moved in to attack. I ran up the center, adrenaline rushing through me. My mark came up and stood beside me. That made things a bit easier.

The ball sailed to the opposite side and it looked like Cho (right wing) was going to get it, but the Mushashinomori player got there in a flash and quickly passed it off. Several other quick passes were made and yet we interrupted none. Mushashinomori had taken a quick advantage.

"What's going on?" I murmured to myself and rushed back down the center to help the defense. 'We're all moving like snails!' The idea of facing the best rated team must have frozen up our heads and slowed down our reactions. Something needed to change quickly because our enemy was ready and they were approaching the goal fast.

Thankfully, Eva was awake and ready; she scooped up the ball before any damage could be done. I stopped my run and looked around at my teammates. Their faces were just slightly surprised at the intensity of our opponent's attack. I knew we could take them if we gave it our best.

Eva punted the ball far, but it took a weird bounce and ended out of bounds. I took the chance to wake up my team. "Hey! Josui! Let's play our game!" Everyone's heads snapped in my direction and a few people grinned. Kojima followed up with: "Get your heads in the game!" She then pointed for people to pick up marks on the throw in.

Apparently, that did the trick because Cho (right wing) quickly stepped in front of her mark and settled the ball. She passed it to Miyuki, who dribbled up the line, and followed her. There was a nice cross and Etsuko had positioned herself nicely for it and took the one touch shot. I thought for sure it was in, but the goalie got there first and made the save.

"Nice save," I mumbled, although upset that it hadn't been a goal. The goalie returned it and the game began again.

The first half ended with no goals. There were a lot of close calls though, too many on our goal and not enough on Mushashinomori. We were almost perfectly matched and even though we all were breathing hard as we jogged to the bench, I could tell everyone still had a lot of energy left.

Mushashinomori returned to their bench in similar spirits. I had heard about the boys' team's first encounter with Mushashinomori had been filled with taunts and name-calling. It was nice to know that their girls' team was different.

Kojima gave her pep talk during the half time break. I only half listened. I wanted a goal badly. When a game is this close, it makes that one point all the more sweet. While my mind buzzed the whistle blew, calling us all back to the field.

It was our kickoff and I got the ball. I made a good pass to Kojima, who passed it to Kimiko (left mid). She got caught up by the sideline and back passed it to Keiko (sweeper). A few more passes and Miyuki had the ball front and center and shot.

It was another near miss. The goalie made a wild dive and managed to get a glove on it. Our opponents countered but our defense did their job and cleared it.

The second half went by quickly with no score. I could tell we were beginning to get frustrated from the looks on everyone's faces. Even Kojima was losing patience. When you keep shooting and don't get anything in, it really weighs you down.

With five minutes left, one of our opponents sent the ball out of bounds and gave us a corner kick. It was our perfect opportunity. Keiko ran up to take the kick. She positioned the ball with care and then glanced over the field. I positioned myself just outside of the 18-yard line, waiting for something to drop out.

The kick was perfect; it had a slight curve and enough air to get over the first defenseman's head. Their goalie punched and it ricocheted from player to player. My eyes darted all over the mess of players to follow the ball's movements. It got cleared to Cho (right mid) who sent it back into the fray.

I shifted my body and saw the ball pop from the cloud of people. A wave of adrenaline came over me and my mind completely focused on that black and white ball. My legs sprinted forward, I planted my foot and shot.

It wasn't until Akiko and Miyuki had me in a hug that I realized the ball went in. I scored! We scored! The whole team passed out high fives and I got a few pats on the back. I couldn't help but grin for the rest of the game.

The final whistle blew, and our opponents' faces fell. It had been a good game.

My head was still fuzzy from the excitement when we exchanged handshakes. Everyone was all grins and giggles back on the bench. Fans poured out of the stands to congratulate us. Arata was snapping pictures as if his life depended on it and Ryota stood there in shock. I couldn't help but smirk at this.

Tatsuya nearly tackled me in a hug. Grinning, I accepted his kiss and hugged him back. He swung me around a bit. Laughing out of sheer joy I couldn't help but send up a cheer.

"_**We made it to the regionals!"**_

_**/THE END/**_

* * *

Okay, so that's the last chapter. I know, I know. I _might_ make a sequel about the regional tournament, but it won't be from Casey's POV. Thank you all so much for reading this to the very end and being patient with me even though I'm a terrible person for ignoring this story for so long. You have no idea how much I really appreciate it.

And one more thanks to Randomcat for writing half of the last chapter for me. I'm glad someone cared enough about my story to do that. I love you all! Thank you!


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